Hansi Flick has been working at FC Barcelona for just two months and his hand is already visible in the Catalan club's actions. After four league rounds, Barcelona is the only team with a full 12 points and leads the Spanish league table, ahead of Real Madrid by four points. Before the international break, FC Barcelona showed off a fantastic and high 7-0 win over Real Valladolid.
Big change at FC Barcelona. It's different than under Xavi Hernandez
“Mundo Deportivo” draws attention to the lack of certain behaviors in FC Barcelona players that have been associated with this team since the days of Pep Guardiola. Namely, it concerns frequent protests and complaints to referees on the pitch, which could end in yellow cards. The Catalan daily points out that in the current season, players from the capital of Catalonia have not yet received a card for protests.
The newspaper noted that last year, after four rounds, Barcelona players had already received four yellow cards for protesting. In total, there were 14 such cards in the whole of the previous season. Xavi Hernandez also saw a lot of them, being thrown to the stands more than once for overly spontaneous reactions.
“This is undoubtedly a less tense Barcelona. Starting with a full set of points helps to ease the tension. But the deciding factor was undoubtedly the new rule that only captains can protest,” we read.
The four captains of FC Barcelona this season are Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Frenkie de Jong, Ronald Araujo and Raphinha. The Dutchman and the Uruguayan are injured, so the Brazilian is talking to the referee on the pitch, because it is hard to imagine the German goalkeeper constantly running around the pitch. The choice of Raphinha was a surprise, because many expected that Robert Lewandowski, who has already donned the armband, could become one of the captains. However, this did not happen and the Pole, like the rest of the Barcelona players, cannot argue with the referees.
FC Barcelona's next match will be on Sunday, September 15, away against Girona. The match will start at 16:15.