
PEDRI GAVE ANOTHER MASTERCLASS AGAINST BETIS
The Brain of Barcelona under Hansi Flick: The Brutal Statistics of Pedri in 2024-25
Published:16/01/2025 - 18:17h
Updated:16/01/2025 - 18:42h
Pedri González is a different player since Hansi Flick took over the FC Barcelona bench. The midfielder has put his injuries behind him, and his performance statistics in 2024-25 are getting better and better.
Hansi Flick's FC Barcelona has recovered, by far, the best version of Pedri González since his brilliant debut with the first team in 2020-21. The Tenerife native has taken control of the midfield, functioning as a second central defender alongside Marc Casadó and as an interior/attacking midfielder when he ventures into the opponent's half. All of Barcelona's football flows through the feet of the '8', the true brain of an unstoppable offensive machine that is increasingly playing more brilliant football.
In this sense, the performance statistics confirm Pedri as the best midfielder of the season in Europe. No player in the five major leagues has provided more pre-assists than the one from Tegueste (6). Against Betis, he added his latest pair, initiating the plays that led to the goals of Gavi and Jules Koundé with key passes to Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal, respectively.
In this regard, Raphinha, Samardzic (Atalanta), Enzo Fernández (Chelsea), and Donyell Malen (Aston Villa) follow him with 5 passes that opened the door to a goal assist, something that the '8' has done on three occasions so far. The midfielder also has 4 goals in 29 matches (2,199 minutes), all in La Liga, and has significantly improved a distinctive aspect of Flick's Barça: recovery in the opponent's half.
Hansi Flick, the Architect of Pedri's Evolution
So far this season, Pedri averages 0.99 tackles per match, in contrast to the 0.62 he recorded in 2023-24. Against Betis, the midfielder recovered 7 balls and, regarding his passing accuracy percentage, he maintains an impressive 88%, slightly better than the 87.5% from the previous season. In La Liga, he is the Barça midfielder with the most completed passes (973), only surpassed in the entire tournament by Fede Valverde (1,057 with Real Madrid).
Moreover, the Tenerife native also significantly improves his average of duels won and passes intercepted compared to 2023-24. The Barça player records 8 successful individual duels per match (7.5 the previous season) and 0.35 more interceptions than last year (3.61 compared to 3.26). Few understand high pressing, space occupation, and ball transition in the opponent's half like he does, two aspects that have amazed Hansi Flick.
"Pedri is everywhere. He understands football, knows how to combine. It's beautiful to watch him; he performs in every match. When we look at the data, we see that he runs a lot and does fantastic things with the ball. His evolution is important. We need someone who controls the game," the German pointed out after another exhibition from the Spanish international against Betis.