BARCELONA, Spain (AP) 鈥 Lamine Yamal provided the dazzle, Pedri set the pace and Raphinha scored the crucial goals as Barcelona won the La Liga title by playing its most electric soccer since the heyday of Lionel Messi.
While his players excelled in a campaign that also included a , Barcelona’s success was in large part due to coach Hansi Flick.
The former Bayern Munich manager took the same core of a squad that won nothing the previous season under Xavi Hern谩ndez and turned it into the one of the most entertaining sides in Europe.
Flick鈥檚 non-negotiable game plan of pressing high up the pitch to recover balls in attacking position was fervently executed by his players. The result was a domestic double and a memorable Champions League semifinal against Inter Milan that Barcelona was .
Backed by Yamal’s 53rd-minute goal, with a 2-0 victory over Espanyol.
鈥淔lick has a large part of this title,鈥 Pedri said after the decider at Espanyol. 鈥淗e completely changed the team, and this season is one to be remembered.鈥
Here are the other keys to Barcelona鈥檚 success in the 2024-25 Spanish league season:
Give the ball to Yamal
Yamal confirmed his status as the rising star of international soccer just weeks before the club season began when in Spain鈥檚 European Championship victory.
He carried his fantastic play into Barcelona鈥檚 season, and over the course of the campaign his weight in the attack increased, as did his role as a vocal motivator.
His comment to a teammate when Madrid was up 2-1 in the Copa del Rey final summed up his and Barcelona鈥檚 mentality: 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter if they score one goal, it doesn鈥檛 matter if they score two goals. They can鈥檛 hang with us.鈥 Barcelona went on to win 3-2.
Yamal helped lead several comebacks and was a big reason that Barcelona swept all four clasicos against Real Madrid by a combined score of 16-7: two in the league, the cup final and the Spanish Super Cup.
And, fittingly, he curled in a stunner to lead the victory that sealed the title.
Reinvented Raphinha
If there is one player who symbolizes the renewal of Barcelona this season it is Raphinha.
Raphinha blossomed from a workhorse winger into and team leader who could play at multiple positions.
The Brazil forward scored 18 of his 34 goals in the league, including twice in a that pretty much decided the title race.
Robert Lewandowski poured in 25 league goals as the veteran striker completed a formidable front three that was comparable to the great Barcelona trident of Messi, Neymar and Luis Su谩rez.
Their goals and the helped vindicate the decision made by club president Joan Laporta three years ago to sell off future TV rights and other assets so that Barcelona could sign Kound茅, Lewandowski and Raphinha as part of a .
Ferr谩n Torres also emerged as a super sub striker, especially when Lewandowski was injured late in the season.
Pedri, the man in the middle
Despite the fantastic play of Barcelona’s forwards, Pedri was the most indispensable player for Flick.
The midfielder, who at age 22 is already completing his fifth season as a undisputed starter, put in his best campaign since . He led the team in minutes played and firmly established himself as the successor of midfield greats Xavi and Andr茅s Iniesta thanks to his ball control, vision, passing and sense of timing.
Pedri was helped by new arrival Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi P谩ez, Ferm铆n L贸pez and Marc Casad贸 to provide Barcelona with the best midfield in the league.
Pressure and high defensive line
Flick鈥檚 most notable imprint on the team was its very high line in defense.
The first-choice back four of Alejandro Balde, I帽igo Mart铆nez, Pau Cubars铆 and Kound茅 were masters of pushing up the field and coordinating perfectly to spring offside traps.
They compacted the space the opponents had to work in and allowed their teammates to swarm in and steal balls to devastating effect.
An honorable mention goes to Wojciech Szczesny, who to play in goal for the injured Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
A young team for years to come
Barcelona鈥檚 future .
Yamal at 17 leads its youth movement, and Pedri, Gavi, Cubars铆, Ferm铆n, Balde, Casad贸, Pablo Torre, Ansu Fati and Gerard Mart铆n, along with other youth-team players used by Flick, are all under 23 years old.
The only players near the end of their career are Lewandowski at 36 and Mart铆nez at 33 years old.
So, all in all, Flick鈥檚 Barcelona has the potential to keep this going for years to come.
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