When Barcelona won La Liga in the 2022-23 season under Xavi, many thought it would be the start of a new dynasty in Catalonia. Beating Real Madrid to the title by ten points, they were favourites with sports betting sites to win the league once again, however, a year later, the manager was gone.
The wheels came off spectacularly at the Lluís last term, with Barca unable to remain consistent in their defence of La Liga, ultimately losing five games and in search of a new coach after Xavi stepped down from the Blaugrana hot seat.
Hansi Flick was the man chosen as his replacement. The German, who won the treble with Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 season – beating Barca 8-2 on aggregate in the process – arrived with big shoes to fill, but so far, he has impressed the Culers.
At the time of writing, Barca find themselves unbeaten with a perfect record of four wins from as many games – scoring 13 and conceding just three. Having come from behind against Valencia, they also beat Athletic Bilbao, Rayo Vallecano and Valladolid to sit top of the table.
It’s a dream start for Flick, who had previously only coached German sides and their national team. He has taken to La Liga football brilliantly and has quickly adapted to a new-look squad.
Indeed, Flick has centred the team around Robert Lewandowski, one of the few familiar faces he worked with at Bayern. The Pole has proved influential in their opening wins, the most emphatic being a 7-0 thrashing of Valladolid.
With four goals already, he’s one of the favourites to win the Pichichi Trophy and has earned plaudits from Flick for his reliability in front of goal.
“I know him very well, I have worked with him, his physical condition is one hundred percent,” he said. “He seeks out goals, he’s a natural goal scorer. We always try to get the ball to him very high up the pitch, that’s part of our game. His goal has given us the three points and the win”.
Of course, there will be plenty of competition for the title of Spanish champions. Real have been inconsistent so far, but with the finishing ability of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham at his disposal, Carlo Ancelotti is sure to fine-tune his symphony of attacking talent.
Atletico Madrid also invested heavily in their squad over the summer – Diego Simeone bringing in Julian Alvarez for £85 million, on top of new singings Alexander Sorloth, Robin Le Normand and Conor Gallagher as they pursue their first La Liga title since 2021.
Flick will have plenty of talent at his disposal in order to guide Barca to the title, and if he can continue to keep the goals coming in, then they have all the makings of champions. However, he will also need to compete in Europe. He faces a Champions League reunion with Bayern on October 23 as well as familiar opposition in Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund, who reached last year’s final.
Based on his opening games, there is plenty of firepower to reach the knockout rounds, but the new format adds an extra layer of unpredictability to this year’s campaign.
Overall, if Flick can continue the good start he has made, then he can become the first foreign manager since Frank Rijkaard in 2006 to win La Liga with Barcelona.
