Hansi Flick praises Dani Olmo and Raphinha after Barcelona’s win over Valladolid

The vibes are indeed immaculate at Barcelona following their 7-0 destruction of Valladolid to maintain their perfect record after the first month of the new La Liga season, and two players in particular caught the eye on Saturday.

The first was Dani Olmo, who made his first start for the senior squad and scored on his home debut, while Raphinha shined brightest with a hat-trick and two assists as the Brazilian continued his incredible run of form to start life under Hansi Flick.

Flick was asked about the two attackers after the game, and was full of praise for both.

“I know [Olmo] really well, we played against him when he was at Leipzig. He’s very good also as a central midfielder, has a great connection with Pedri. We also have good depth on the bench with Fermín [López], who also can play in those positions. That helps the team.

“I’ve watched [Raphinha] play many times and it doesn’t surprise me. He’s taken a while to score a hat-trick but he’s got the quality to do it. He’s had a great performance. Raphinha works very hard to create space for others. He does many things well, he’s one of the players who’ve done really well in all four matches.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo

Barça played in a more traditional 4-3-3 shape on Saturday in which Olmo was asked to affect the play from deeper compared to his usual number 10 position, but the Spaniard showed his quality and versatility and managed to be dangerous and active all over the final third, scoring his goal by running from deep and ending up inside the six-yard area.

As for Raphinha, he continued to thrive with the freedom given to him by Flick. Unlike his previous two seasons under Xavi Hernández when he was asked to play high and wide for almost the entire game, the Brazilian is now free to move wherever he wants, and use his constant movement to create spaces for himself and others.

Both Olmo and Raphinha had plenty of skeptics before the season started, but both are answering the critics pretty loudly and turning many doubters into fans.