Barcelona once again lived up to their reputation as an attacking machine against Elche.
By the end of the night, they produced 30 shots, yet only three went in.
In the big picture, you have to be happy with the result. Barca got a win on the road against a clever opponent. The offense continues to click, just as Hansi Flick designed it to be.
Still, the coach will feel it necessary to call out all those wasted chances.
If he does, he’ll have a very good example to illustrate how finishing is done.
Frenkie
de Jong went box to box, and when his final ball was delivered, it was given to Ferran Torres on a sliver plater. The striker simply couldn’t miss if he tried.
And that’s saying something, because just about every Barcelona forward and attacking midfielder misfired against Elche with open nets in front of them. Scoring goals is never easy, and one thing you can’t do is force it.
Barcelona tend to do all the hard work in the build up really well. Against Elche, who play openly and with an attacking mindset as well, the Blaugrana were always going to find their way through.
The opening goal came early, but after that Barcelona were too casual, and eventually, they were made to pay for it with a familiar late run behind their high line.
Frenkie was the one player who was switched on in every part of the field. He made defensive interventions, carried the ball forward, and even made some nice runs to get behind Elche’s defenders. He does such a great job of reading the game.
With Pedri out, Barcelona are going to depend on Frenkie being at his best to keep their lead at the top of the La Liga table.
You could the ways that he influences the game.
He doesn’t score many goals himself, and for some of his critics that’s a knock against him.
In this particular system that Flick has created, he doesn’t have to. His industry is what matter most. In that game winning goal against Elche though, you saw how inventive he can be. While his teammates tried breaking down the goal with a sledge hammer, he simply pulled out a key, and the ball gracefully found its way in.
There’s skill, which he has and certainly utilized on the play, and then there’s intelligence.
That’s Frenkie for you, and that’s why he continues to be an indispensable player for Barcelona.
