Three things we spotted from Barca's friendly win over Daegu

Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images

In the hammering rain South Korean rain, Barcelona strolled to yet another pre-season victory without ever having to really get out of second gear.

The 5-0 win took on the same pattern as the previous tour friendlies with Hansi Flick using the half-time break to complete change his XI and given as many players as possible a run out.

So, what did we learn about the game...

Gavi in the groove

Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images

It’s great to see the old Gavi really on the way back.

The way in which he anticipates and makes runs in behind defences is a largely

overlooked part of his game, perhaps because we’re so conditioned to seeing him as the ‘terrier’ type of midfielder and the likes of Pedri with more finesse.

Against Daegu, Gavi was everywhere. Probing and passing forward at every opportunity, it was hard to pick a fault in his game for the time he was on the pitch.

The two goals were the icing on the cake and gives Flick a timely reminder of exactly what he’s capable of when the shackles are off.

Raphinha leading by example

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Raphinha has clearly started where he left off last season and again during the opening 45 in this fixture, his was a performance of real note and quality.

We’ve become used to the Brazilian getting himself in favourable attacking positions and he was unlucky not to add his name to the scoresheet after a couple of presentable chances fell his way.

Where he surprised a lot of people last season was with his work rate, and that was fully on show again on Monday.

At one point he’d tracked back deep into the Barca half, before popping up at the other end shortly afterwards.

It’s that kind of level that others should be aspiring too and leading by example again bodes well for the forthcoming campaign.

Dani Olmo still lacking confidence

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It’s noticeable with Dani Olmo that things aren’t coming as naturally or as freely to him at the moment.

As is the case when a player is lacking confidence, chances are snatched at or passed up entirely, and the longer it goes on, the deeper the hole a player seems to head down.

Perhaps it’s the evident knowledge that he’s likely to be an impact sub again for Hansi Flick this season rather than a guaranteed starter that could be behind his insouciance.

Against Daegu, Olmo got himself into some decent positions, but his lack of mental and physical sharpness was evident.

Certainly, he hasn’t really done enough to justify giving Flick some food for thought.

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