AS: Rodri Impresses on His First Start, Perfectly Matching Barcelona's Style

On his first day as a starter, he delivered a compact masterclass of his own: winning the ball, intercepting, and distributing. More importantly, he also had a dominant Pedri beside him.

The season is long, and nobody knows what will happen around the next corner, but Barcelona have started like a hurricane. Most players who took part in the World Cup are still on holiday, yet Flick did not waste time during the preseason preparations at St George's Park. It felt as though, in the fresh air of the English countryside, he injected the team with the extra ambition it already possessed. In four matches, Barcelona have already scored 17 goals. If this really was his final match at Mestalla, then Rodri and Pedri, the two metronomes, as well as the four 'fighter jets', left a deep impression; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha and Gordon all enjoyed their performances. On his first day as a starter, Rodri delivered a compact masterclass of his own: winning the ball, intercepting, and distributing. More importantly, he had a dominant Pedri beside him, with the latter in better physical condition this season than during the World Cup. The two world champions received applause when they left Valencia. Those who once doubted whether they could coexist at Barcelona should now feel reassured. Rodri's style of play and Barcelona are a perfect match, and he has brought stability to a team that enjoys playing with speed but needs a brain to control important matches. Barcelona sensed an opportunity and scored five goals, while the clearest sign of their direction forward was Olmo: he provided two assists within five minutes. Now, at this Barcelona side, everyone wants to enjoy playing.