It’s been an excellent start to the season for Barcelona. At this stage, Joan Laporta’s decision to sack Xavi Hernandez in favour of appointing Hansi Flick appears to be vindicated, with four wins from four ensuring that the Catalans are four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski have been included in @WhoScored's team of the week of Europe's top 5 leagues. Congratulations! ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/apZ627Wb62
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 3, 2024
Things are certainly looking up, and former player Oscar Mingueza – who himself has had an outstanding start to the season, which has led to a deserved Spain call-up – told Sport that he is hopeful that Barcelona can keep progressing over the course of the campaign.
“Barcelona are still a work in progress. It is something that is not achieved from one year to the next. With the players that were there, some had to leave, such as Leo, Busi, Jordi Alba – those that were very important, who marked a before and after. It was very difficult to replace them.
“It is a project that needs time. They need to go little by little and show trust. Last year we saw that they could go further. and I hope that this season they will explode.”
Mingueza makes a good point that this progress will take time, and it won’t be linear for Barcelona. They may be doing well now, but it is a long season that could change at any moment. There should be no panic if/when things start to go wrong.
