After a slow start to the season, Barcelona are beginning to click into gear. There was plenty of talk of crisis and tumult early doors, but that’s turning into quiet optimism.
The Blaugrana are now in third place in La Liga, just four points off first-placed Atletico Madrid and a single win away from their great rivals Real Madrid.
Ronald Koeman‘s men won three on the bounce this past week, all away from home and difficult fixtures on paper.
Key to their improvement has been the form of Lionel Messi, who’s finally enjoying his football again, as well as the way in which he’s connected with the younger charges at Camp Nou.
Pedri is the most obvious example of this, but there are others.
Ousmane Dembele, finally fit, has looked the player Barcelona thought they were getting from Borussia Dortmund recently, while Antoine Griezmann is beginning to show signs of being able to co-exist with Messi in a mutually beneficial manner.
Another key performer has been Frenkie de Jong, the young Dutch playmaker who joined from Ajax in the summer of 2019.
He’s played his best football under Koeman, breaking forward with regularity and becoming more involved in the final third.
For him, however, he’s just pleased with the collective excellence his team are beginning to show, not least the teenage sensation from the Canary Islands.
“I think Pedri has a lot of talent and a lot of quality,” De Jong said in comments carried by Diario Sport. “He’s a crack for me.
“I think we’ve always been united, but it’s true that since the beginning of the new year we’re better, yes,” De Jong said. “There have been many changes in the club since the beginning of the season. Little by little, we’re improving.”
I completely wish my team, best of Luck this year 2021.