121 touches, 7/11 ground duels: One Barcelona player continues to be indispensable for Hansi Flick | OneFootball

FC Barcelona had yet another impressive display against Red Star Belgrade with a 5-2 win in the League Phase of the Champions League. It was yet another dominant showing against a relatively modest team, especially in the second half.

Around a week ago, we covered a story on how indispensable Marc Casado has become for Hansi Flick, emerging as the engine room for the team. With every passing game, including last night against Belgrade, he further goes on to drive home that point.

No one would have imagined the seamlessness with which Casado has made his step up to the first team. Never quite as highly rated as some of his other La Masia peers, the 21-year-old has emerged as the pivot that Barcelona has been searching for a long time.

A brilliant ball-winner in midfield who is adept at controlling the tempo of the game and can also provide line-breaking passes, Casado has it all. The ex-Barca Atletic captain is matching his standards with some of the very best pivots in the world.

Flick allowed Casado to play the entire game against the Serbian opposition last night. As per stats from SofaScore, the 21-year-old had a mind-blowing game but fans have grown to expect this from him every other week nowadays.

Casado recorded 121 touches of the ball on the night, completing 91% of his 106 attempted passes. This included one key pass. He also completed two out of his four long balls and one out of his two attempted dribbles.

As good as his numbers on the ball were, as always, his work off the ball was top-notch too. He won 7 out of his 11 attempted ground duels, two out of his three aerial duels (for a player of his stature), recorded one clearance, one interception and six tackles.

To say Casado was everywhere on the pitch would be an understatement. He is making it a habit to put in these tireless performances game after game. He is a guaranteed 7/10 every single week and Barcelona must thank their lucky stars that he has stuck around for his chance in the first team.

The La Masia graduate looks set to remain a mainstay in Hansi Flick’s XI, irrespective of who returns from injury. Let’s wait and see how his career plays out going forward.