Rodri walked out at the Mestalla for the first Barcelona start of his career on Sunday, and by full time his new head coach was calling him a leader on and off the pitch.
Lamine Yamal opened the scoring inside six minutes and added his second on 84 minutes, with Fermín López, Raphinha and Pedri filling in the middle for a 5-0 win that made it four wins from four in La Liga.
Rodri looks the part on his first start
The 30-year-old had been eased in with limited cameos off the bench against Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano, and Flick was in no rush to start him after a €76.5m move from Manchester City including add-ons. On matchday four the block came off.
Rodri won possession in the build-up to Raphinha’s third and rattled the crossbar with a header from a corner. Flick had no reservations afterwards.
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“Everything Rodri does makes sense. It’s exciting. Not just on the pitch, but in the dressing room too. He’s a true leader,” Flick said.
The signing has pushed academy midfielder Marc Bernal down the pecking order, and Flick made sure to keep him in the picture.
“Marc Bernal is also doing a good job. He will get his chances and will keep improving more and more thanks to this signing.”
Yamal trained alone on Saturday
Yamal had missed the group session the day before the match. His head coach said the winger himself decided he was ready on the morning of kick-off.
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“Yesterday he trained separately from the group, but this morning we spoke, and he told me he could play,” Flick told reporters.
“He has been involved in the defensive pressing, very engaged, and that’s very good.”
Fermín’s low finish across goal made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute, his fourth La Liga goal of the campaign. Flick praised the intensity but did not gloss over the rest.
“We can see what sort of player he is from what he does inside and outside the box. He’s always pressing, he’s good with and without the ball, and he scores goals. His strength is his intensity, but he does make a few mistakes.”
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Pau Cubarsí picked up a yellow card for a hard challenge and was withdrawn at the hour mark. Dani Olmo came off the bench and had a direct hand in both late goals, exchanging passes with Pedri for the fourth and clipping the ball into Yamal for the fifth.
“I’m happy for Dani, for how he’s come off the bench. He’s very intelligent,” Flick said.
Flick still wants a No. 9
Barcelona have now scored 17 goals in their opening four league matches, and the head coach’s next line was still the same one he has been repeating since the transfer window closed.
“It doesn’t change our approach. We need a ‘number 9’,” Flick said. “Everyone on the pitch can score goals.”
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Barcelona open their Champions League campaign against Feyenoord at Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday, matchday one of the league phase.
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