Three takeaways for Hansi Flick from Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Club | Spanish Super Cup | OneFootball

Barcelona and Athletic Club faced off at the King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia last night in the first semifinal of the Supercopa de Espana, and Hansi Flick’s side brought home the win quite convincingly.

The manager put out his best available team on the night with even Lamine Yamal returning from injury, Raphinha featuring for the first time after the Christmas break, and the mainstays in defence and midfield were back in action.

The Blaugrana created seven big chances against the Basque opposition, took 14 shots, and should have won by a larger margin. Regardless, they are now in the finale and have time to rest and recover before the title clash.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points from Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Club.

Supercopa Gavi is different

Gavi scored and assisted a goal against Athletic Club. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

The Barcelona camp was visibly joyous last night after news arrived that the team received the precautionary measure from CSD regarding the availability of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor.

With both players unavailable for the game against Athletic Club, however, the manager had a decision to take over whom to deploy as the attacking midfielder on the night. His decision was quite straightforward as he picked Gavi.

The La Masia graduate has slowly been working his way up since returning from an ACL injury and his confidence has been on the constant rise with every passing game. Last night, however, the world saw vintage Gavi once more.

For not a second in the game did the former Golden Boy winner look anything less than the player he was pre-injury. Starting in the attacking midfield, he dictated Barcelona’s buildup, created gaps in the defence, and stole the show alone.

It was in the 17th minute of the game that the number 6 opened the scoring for the team and it was clear how much the goal meant to him, it being his first goal since his injury. He was at the right place at the right time and tapped in Alejandro Balde’s assist.

After the restart, he wonderfully set up Yamal for Barcelona’s second goal with a deft touch, playing the winger directly in front of goal and placing it on a platter.

Apart from his goal and assist, Gavi racked up three key passes, completed 90% of his passes, and created one big chance.

Remembering how he single-handedly demolished Real Madrid in the same competition two years ago, it is clear that the Supercopa de Espana brings out the best in Gavi.

Szczesny’s moment begins?

Wojciech Szczesny started ahead of Inaki Pena. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Despite being poised to start for Barcelona against Athletic Club, Inaki Pena was axed from the starting lineup after he failed to report on time. The doors thus opened for Wojciech Szczesny and the veteran showed his class on the night.

Having made his debut only earlier this week in the Copa del Rey, it was always going to be interesting to see how he fared against elite opposition. Szczesny, however, was unfazed and dished out a man-of-the-match display.

The Polish goalkeeper was strong in 1v1 duels, decent with his distribution, and came up clutch when the team needed him the most, thus helping Barcelona stay in the game at all times.

In 90 minutes, Szczesny produced a staggering five saves, one of which came from inside the box and completed all six of his attempted runs out. He also made two high claims and completed 86% of his passes.

At a time when Inaki Pena is slowly losing the management’s trust, Sczcesny’s performance could come as exactly what the player needs to become Barcelona’s first-choice goalkeeper.

Within reach of silverware

The title is within Barcelona’s reach. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

One down. One to go. Barcelona are now halfway through their route to the Spanish Super Cup trophy and it is hard to ignore that silverware is just around the corner.

After their slump in form towards the end of last year, the dressing room is determined to return stronger than before in the new year, and winning early in 2025 will go a long way in boosting their spirits.

In many ways, it would validate Hansi Flick’s project, show the team that they are headed in the right direction, and motivate them to put up their best for the rest of the campaign with solid evidence that it is enough to win silverware.

Having taken a mighty team in Athletic Club in the semifinal, the team will be feeling good about their chances as they wait to see who they face in the finale.

In all probability, it will be Real Madrid who gets the better of Mallorca and earn a place in the title clash and the Catalans will love the opportunity to win a trophy by directly defeating their arch-rivals.