Barcelona beat Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday night to maintain their 100% record on Tuesday night, sealing a first victory in three years against Rayo, and guaranteeing their place at the top of the table until the next matchday. However Hansi Flick told the press after the game that it was a ‘sad victory’ due to Marc Bernal’s injury.
Bernal, 17, is set to undergo tests on Wednesday to confirm his injury, but the Blaugrana doctors suspect a dreaded anterior cruciate ligament injury. That would more or less rule him out for the rest of the season, after a sensational start to life in professional football. Bernal, who had started the first three games, was earmarked for a key role at the base of Barcelona’s midfield.
Marc Bernal had completely won over Hansi Flick, who for the third time in a row handed him a start. @sergidejuan9
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 28, 2024
Now, their plans have been thrown into doubt. Sport say that there is no indication that Barcelona will look to bring in a replacement before the end of the transfer window though. They say that Marc Casado, who began Barcelona’s first game against Valencia, and Pau Prim at Barca Atletic, are the prime candidates for Bernal’s minutes.
Prim is untested at senior level, while Casado has more experience, and perhaps is more switched on defensively than Bernal. However he is yet to show the same composure on the ball nor the same vision that Bernal has in his first showings at Barcelona.
