Against Celta Vigo Without Lamine Yamal, Barcelona Needs To Prepare Plan B

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has prepared plan B to face Celta Vigo. (X/@FCBarcelona)

JAKARTA - Barcelona lost Lamine Yamal's mainstay when they faced host Celta Vigo in the La Liga Spain match at the Abanca Balaidos Stadium, Sunday, November 24, 2024 in the morning WIB. Without Yamal, coach Hansi Flick needed to prepare plan B so as not to lose points in away matches.

The age of Yamal is still 17. But he has become a pillar of Barca's strength. Even Flick is in danger of experiencing difficulties if there is no Yamal. The reason is, this Spanish national team player is an important part of the scheme to attack Barca.

The problem is, Yamal will miss Barca visiting Celta Vigo's headquarters. An ankle injury forced Yamal to pull over. He was not called up by the national team during the UEFA Nations League match against Denmark and Switzerland.

Flick felt the need to prepare for plan B because when he didn't play Yamal, Barca suffered quite a crushing defeat. Meanwhile, Barca needed full points to keep their distance from Real Madrid.

In the match against Osasuna, Flick backed Yamal who was prepared to appear in the Champions League. Without him, Barca were beaten badly and had trailed 4-1. Flick finally included Yamal who then scored a goal to reduce the Blaugrana's defeat to 4-2.

Since then, Yamal has always played Flick. When Barca again was not strengthened by Yamal against Real Sociedad due to injury, the team lost 1-0.

At that time, Flick played Raphinha on the left and Fermin Lopez on the right. The result was a little chance created. Even then, nothing can be converted into a goal. Contrast to Barca's previous appearance which always terrorized the opponent's defense. They were able to score 40 goals from 12 matches.

"Punya pemain berkualitas seperti Lamine menjadi tim mana pun pasti kehilangan. Bahkan kami masih belum bisa membuat pilihan yang tepat untuk posisi separah di depan [final third]," kata Flick seperti dikutip france24.

Yamal's role and contribution cannot be ignored. Striker Robert Lewandowski may be Barca's mainstay goal engine. He has also scored 12 goals.

But Lewandowski always fails to score when Yamal is not in the starting eleven. Yamal's ability and speed always forces opposing defenders to focus on him.

This makes Lewandowski have room to score goals. Likewise, Yamal's creativity really helped this veteran striker break into the opponent's goal.

Raphinha also felt Yamal's important role because of his feedback when he counterattacked to help him score goals.

Then what is Flick's plan B? With the absence of Yamal and Ferran Torres who are also absent due to injury, Pau Victor is the first choice in the attacking midfielder position.

Then Dani Olmo was secured on the left wing and Raphinha on the right. They will support Lewandowski as the spearhead. This plan is expected to run smoothly in the match against Celta Vigo.

Apart from Yamal's absence, the figure of the player in the spotlight is of course Gavi. The 20-year-old midfielder has returned to play after recovering from a knee injury that forced him out of action for one year. The injury that left the full-named player Pablo Paez Gavira buried his dream of playing at Euro 2024.

Even though he has returned to play, Gavi has just appeared as a substitute. In fact, he has only played for the last 10 minutes. Now, Gavi hopes to start again in the match against Celta Vigo. If finally fielded as a starter, Gavi may not play in full.

Currently Barca is still perched at the top of La Liga standings with a pocket of 33. Six points ahead of Real Madrid who are in second place. Only, Madrid still have one game postponed.