Barcelona are three wins from three. Braces from Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, plus a Florian Lejeune own goal, pulled Flick’s side back from a 12th-minute Rayo Vallecano lead and eventually turned the night into a rout.
The bigger show was Flick at the microphone, running through the men reshaping his squad.
Gordon at the heart of the goals
Anthony Gordon did not score, but he was involved in two of them. The former Newcastle winger was in the middle of the sequence that ended with Lejeune turning the ball into his own net just after the interval, and his cutback teed up Yamal’s second in stoppage time. Flick withdrew him on 77 minutes for Joao Cancelo.
Gordon’s night matched a pattern from earlier in the season, when he arrived off the bench on his Barcelona debut and delivered two assists within five minutes against Elche.
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Gabriel Jesus watched from the stands
Gabriel Jesus was not on the pitch. The Brazil forward was in the Camp Nou stands, awaiting his official signing on Tuesday after Barcelona agreed a €10m deal with Arsenal, with a further €4m possible in performance-related add-ons.
Flick was already talking about him as a Barcelona player.
“For me, Gabriel Jesus is a top striker. I’m very happy he’s here. He can give us a lot,” Flick told reporters at Camp Nou.
Rodri off the bench
Rodri came on in the 64th minute for Marc Bernal as Flick looked to steady the game after Sergio Camello had pulled a goal back for Rayo Vallecano. The Spain midfielder had already made his Barcelona debut in the previous league match, coming off the bench in a 2-0 win over Athletic Club that Flick called a “perfect” signing performance.
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Barcelona signed Rodri from Manchester City on 18 August in a deal worth €60m plus €16.5m in add-ons.
‘World-class’ Raphinha
Raphinha put the game beyond doubt with a second goal in the 71st minute, capping a night that also brought Flick’s warmest words.
“Of course I expected his performance; he’s a world-class footballer. I always want him on my team,” Flick said afterwards.
The German still had a note of caution on how the game was managed once his side led.
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“At home we need to control the game better. Have more possession,” he told reporters. “It’s our mentality, for some of our players, to go forward and attack, but sometimes it’s necessary to slow the game down.”
The match
Sergio Camello punished a slow Barcelona start with a finish from an Alvaro Garcia cutback in the 12th minute. Raphinha equalised on 19 minutes and Yamal completed the first-half turnaround two minutes later with a curling effort from the right.
Lejeune’s own goal on 51 minutes made it 3-1 before Camello pulled Rayo Vallecano back to 3-2 in the 59th minute. Raphinha’s second and Yamal’s late second settled it.
Asked about further additions before the transfer window closes, Flick was noncommittal. “I don’t know if there will be any more developments, I don’t think so. But we’ll see. I don’t think so.”
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