Five Takeaways from the game at Sevilla

  1. Hansi Flick has been masterful with rotations, subs, and overall game management, and today was maybe his best yet. The halftime adjustments were perfect and the game management after going down a man was fantastic, we slowed the pace, became more compact, and got instant impact from subs.
  2. Fermin has a legitimate case to be in our go-to XI. I will be the first to say I love Gavi, he’s a warrior, and has all the makings of a complete CM. But right now Fermin offers us more in the way of production and that’s ultimately what we need to maximize. The red card was a poor decision by him but he still offers the intensity and ability on the ball along with more goal scoring. With how the game is played now, and even more so with how we want to play, Fermin is the perfect modern attacking midfielder that suits the system wonderfully.
  3. The best version of this team does not include Araujo starting. I’m still happy we kept him as we need the defenders, but there such a clear lack of precision in how execute defensively when he’s out there. He has great attributes for recovering defensively, but our best defense is to not even get to the point of chasing back. Realistically he’s the 4th option at CB and I wouldn’t rule out a sale in the summer.
  4. Lamine is not THE guy yet and that is totally ok. Today Lamine faced a lot of double teams and isolated play on the wing, he did some fantastic work and is such a valuable piece to our team. But, he is not the decisive game winner yet. The decision making in the penalty box and finishing ability is not consistent enough. Regardless, he’s invaluable to us and does so many little things vital to the team: holding the ball in tight areas, committing defenders and stretching the back line, etc.
  5. Raphinha is THE guy. I thought Raphinha put on a champions performance today (along with Pedri). He’s our most effective attacking player right now and he constantly comes up in the big moments. Hes the perfect player for Lamine to play alongside with as he develops.

All in all, a great result where we faced adversity in the game and put on a champions performance, especially in light of the pressure after Atleti and Real dropped points. We have a nice 8 game break now to get fresh for a home encounter with Rayo. Visca Barca