Before Real Sociedad and Barcelona play in La Liga MD20, consider these three talking points.
After a long trip to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona return to action away from home at Santander. The Copa Del Rey Round of 16 takes place midweek.
But their calendar doesn’t send them home just yet, as they now have to travel to the Basque Country to take on Real Sociedad at the Anoeta, or as it’s now called, the Real Arena.
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Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team has seen good results since taking charge earlier this month. They have two wins and a draw in their first three games under the new coach and will be looking to build on the momentum tonight.
Barca Universal brings you three talking points from Real Sociedad vs Barcelona.
Approaching the impossible
Barcelona’s win over Racing Santander in midweek marked a special landmark for the team in terms of their winning streak.
the result of Copa Del Rey The round of 16 saw the team win 11 consecutive games without dropping a point, equalling some of the best runs of form in team history.
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Hansi Flick achieved a feat by reaching 11 consecutive victories There are very few coaches in the history of the club. For starters, Pep Guardiola’s unstoppable Barcelona won 11 in a row in the 2009 season that saw them win the treble.
Hansi Flick has reached new heights with this Barcelona team. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Luis Enrique repeated the feat in 2015 as his side won 11 in a row in that campaign. Amazingly, the Catalans won the UEFA Champions League on that occasion as well.
Flick, who reached that special figure in the previous match, shows that the team is destined to do something special this season – but tonight he has the chance to do something special and even surpass the records of Guardiola and Enrique.
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Frank Rijkaard holds the record for the longest winning streak in Barcelona history, having led the team to 18 consecutive victories across all competitions. While it’s still a long way to go, Flick’s side edges closer to the impossible with each win from this point.
A awaited debut
D Copa Del Rey The midweek fixture was much closer than many expected and it forced Hansi Flick to bring big names into the team late to see results.
Although the team successfully completed the match and managed to rest some key players, Flick was unable to achieve his objectives for the night, which allowed Joao Cancelo to make his debut.
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The Portuguese international returned to the club earlier this month and will remain with the Blaugrana until the end of the season. The manager has spoken of his attacking potential and it will be interesting to see where he fits in Flick’s dynamic.
In all likelihood, Cancelo’s debut will be against La Real And it remains to be seen whether the manager uses him as a backup right-back or left-back.
Furthermore, Cancelo’s official integration into Flick’s plans would also free up some of the manager’s centre-back options who are currently stuck in the full-back role at the same time, such as the likes of Gerard Martin, Erik Garcia and possibly Jules Kounde.
All eyes will be on Cancelo’s performance in his few minutes off the bench and the manager’s plans for him.
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Memories of turning around
Barcelona’s first season under Hansi Flick was close to a dream season, as the club was seemingly unstoppable on all fronts.
Can Barcelona continue their momentum against Real Sociedad? (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images )
In all, they won just six in La Liga, two in the UEFA Champions League, and were unbeaten in the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
Real Sociedad at Anoeta, however, was a match they failed to win last season and was one of six league games in which the team dropped three points last season.
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Furthermore, it served as the start of Barcelona’s end-of-year slump in Flick’s first season, which saw them fall behind in the title race and lose steam until the Christmas break.
On the night, it was Sheraldo Becker who scored in the 33rd minute to give the hosts the lead and Barcelona were well and truly beaten on the night, as they produced an xG of just 0.64 to La Real’s 2.02.
Anoeta, thus, was one of two away stadiums where Flick’s side lost last season and they will be looking to overturn those results and memories tomorrow as they reach high on confidence.
