Barcelona magic is back?

Barcelona magic is back?

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For the first time in many years, Barcelona showed a truly solid performance in the Champions League! In the first round of the group stage, the Catalans crushed the Belgian Antwerp with a score of 5:0, and Blaugranas newcomers Joao Felix, Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Cancelo played an important role in this defeat.

Before the start of the Champions League, Xavi's team played a La Liga match against Betis, which on paper promised to be very difficult. But in reality there was a spectacular victory with a score of 5:0 with goals from Felix, Lewandowski, Torres, Raphinha and Cancelo. The same men (plus young midfielder Gavi) contributed to the demolition of Antwerp on Tuesday, proving that Barcelona have only improved since the previous campaign.

Catalan boss Joan Laporta has literally squeezed 1000% out of summer transfer deals. Yes, few people remember the presence of Oriol Romeu, but the rest of the newcomers are called upon to become future leaders of the Blaugrana. First of all, this concerns Ilkay Gundogan, who will bring to the team the solidity that all Pep Guardiola's players have certainly encountered. At the moment, the 32-year-old German has 3 assists in six matches, but we are sure that he will produce significantly more effective actions.

If Gundogan can be labeled the “new Iniesta”, then Joao Cancelo is Barcelona’s most productive right-back since Dani Alves! For once, Barcelona had an edge in a problematic position, which was covered either by Sergi Roberto, then by Jules Kounde, or by Ronald Araujo. In the match with Antwerp, the Portuguese did not score, but right up to his substitution in the 76th minute he truly terrorized the left edge of the Belgian defense.

And Joao Felix is a claim to be the “new Neymar”. In the first half of the Champions League game, the young Portuguese scored a goal and an assist, after which he added another scoring action in the second half of the game. It was Felix's playing qualities that were sorely lacking in Barcelona under Xavi's leadership. Let us remind you that the skillfull 23-year-old maestro did not take root in the straightforward teams of Atletico and Chelsea, but at Barcelona he truly blossomed.

Barcelona's main task for next summer is to buy out the contracts of newcomers at any cost, who are already helping it regain its former power. After years of incredible extravagance in the transfer market, the Catalans have finally learned to work efficiently, thanks to which they are gradually returning to the list of top candidates for winning all sorts of trophies.