On Saturday night, the Barcelona guard in the 2024/25 season of the LA Liga also made their debut, and at the meeting in Valencia, there were those who made their debut in the Catalan guard, some who did not. Hansi Flick was able to sit on the bench as the third German head coach in the team’s history, succeeding such world-famous coaches as Hennes Weisweiler and Udo Lattek. Flick’s aim could not be other than to make his debut as Barca coach with a win, like his compatriots. At the same time, due to registration problems, the joint top scorer of the summer European Championship, Dani Olmo, who was signed for 60 million euros, could not be available to the German manager, who could watch his teammates’ fight in the Stadio Mestalla from the audience.
Dani Olmo has yet to make his debut in Barcelona Photo: Getty Images
However, the Catalans were not disturbed by all this, and with such players in the starting 11 as Marc Bernal and Marc Casadó from the second team, they finally took the three points from the home of Valencia, which is dangerous for everyone on the home field. Fortunately for Flick, Robert Lewandowski was on the pitch, and the Polish striker immediately signaled with a double that the new head coach can count on him.
The three goals scored in an excellent match were concentrated between the 44th and 48th minutes of the second half. The home team took the lead – with the help of VAR – with Hugo Duro’s header. At first, the marker waved off, but after several minutes of video, it became clear that Inigo Martínez’s leg was stuck, so the home team’s goal was valid. But Valencia could not go into the break with an advantage, as Lamine Yamal’s pass was shot into the goal by Lewandowski. Barca, who started the second half with great momentum, already took the lead in the 48th minute, after the penalty awarded for bringing down Raphina was mercilessly smashed into the top corner by the Polish striker.
Hansi Flick made his debut on Barca’s bench with a win Photo: Getty Images
In fact, in the 57th minute, Ferran Torres could have decided the match, but he couldn’t beat the home team’s Georgian goalkeeper, Giorgi Mamardasvili, who, according to press reports, could soon move to the Premier League. In the continuation, Valencia attacked in vain for an equaliser, but they can still be happy that they did not concede another goal after Casadó missed the chance of the match. The 2-1 Catalan victory remained, and Flick, following the example of his compatriots, started with a victory on the Barcelona bench.
