Hansi Flick praised the “wonderful” work done at La Masia after Barcelona’s youngsters shone in a 2-0 win over Osasuna.
Barca moved seven points clear of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga as Raphinha struck twice in the final 20 minutes at Camp Nou, with the pressure firmly on Los Blancos ahead of their trip to Alaves on Sunday.
Flick’s team has now won seven consecutive games in LaLiga by at least two goals. It is the first time Barca has achieved this feat since completing eight such victories under Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde in 2017.
But the Blaugrana boss preferred to focus on his defenders, who limited Osasuna to just three shots and 0.37 expected goals (xG), compared to 24 shots and 2.61 xG for Barca.
Three members of Barca’s back four were aged 23 or under, namely Gerard Martin, Alejandro Balde and teenager Pau Cubarsi, while Eric Garcia – a fourth academy player – impressed in midfield alongside Pedri.
“The most important thing was the three points. We controlled the game; defensively we did very well. Maybe we didn’t have big chances, but we got the three points,” said Flick.
“I don’t think too much about the rest of the teams. We want to go to Villarreal and win. It is good that the opponents feel under pressure, but that is not in our hands.”
“After a few weeks of suffering, we are back. With all the players almost at 100%, you can see the team’s ability.”
Garcia completed 93.8% of his passes (75/80) and created two chances from the base of midfield, also contesting eleven duels and winning two tackles.
Martin, meanwhile, had the most touches (112) and accurate passes (93) of any player on the pitch, matching Balde’s game-high passing accuracy of 95.9%.
Flick said: “Eric gives us stability, he played a fantastic match. Gerard has improved a lot.”
“And I’ve talked enough about Cuba in the past. Playing at this level at the age of 18 is cruel.”
“I have to congratulate La Masia for what they have done with the young players. It is really great.”
Osasuna are outside the relegation zone only on goal difference, but head coach Alessio Lisci felt the match was a missed opportunity for his team.
“We should be angry. We didn’t come here on holiday, but to score. Their first goal comes from a situation that we have worked very hard on,” he said.
“We had them where we wanted them. We controlled them well. In transition we created potentially dangerous chances, but we had to do more with the ball.”
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