FC Barcelona, at the feet of Pedri: goal and yet another exhibition from the Canary Islander

Another night, another recital from Pedri González. The Canary Islander has 'reborn' under the orders of Hansi Flick and has established himself as the brain of the unstoppable FC Barcelona of the German, taking control of the game from the midfield and being one of the silent leaders of the team in the electrifying draw against Atlético de Madrid. 

Against the mattress makers, in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals, the Tenerife native once again showcased a display of personality and good football without which it would be impossible to explain the overwhelming performance shown by the culés on the pitch of Montjuïc. The night could not have started worse for the Catalans, who saw the visitors go 0-2 ahead in the 6th minute.

However, far from being discouraged by such a hostile context, Pedri stepped up and took command of the match. The midfielder led the reaction of the blaugranas, scoring a goal to reduce the deficit after an impressive combination between Lamine Yamal and Jules Koundé, which ended with the Frenchman sending a great low cross to the heart of the area for the '8' to finish comfortably and celebrate his fifth goal of the season.

From there, the Barça went on to achieve an incredible comeback in 20 minutes, going into halftime with a 3-2 lead. Ultimately, the rojiblancos would end up drawing with a last-minute goal from Alexander Sorloth, but the recital offered by the Canary Islander remained etched in the memory of all who witnessed the spectacle presented by both teams at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

Pedri continues to rise

With his goal against Atleti, Pedri reached 5 this season, just two shy of his record of 7 from the 2022-23 season. Additionally, in the 38 matches he has played so far, he has already accumulated 6 assists, his highest as a culé in a single season, and in the current 24/25 season, he has only missed one match due to a flu virus (against Valencia) and is just 40 minutes away from surpassing the 3,000' played mark.

At the end of the match, the Canary Islander, who has already confessed to feeling comfortable in his role as leader of Flick's project, spoke to the press and stated that "it's not the worst result, that's clear, but when you go 4-2 up and end up drawing, it's complicated." The player also recalled that "it already happened to us in the league, that in the last minutes we threw it away and we repeated it again."

However, he remained optimistic for the return leg and assured that "we have to learn from these things. Above all, to keep the ball and not throw the line so much in the last minutes. There is still the return leg and I am sure we will go for it all." What is clear is that, with the current level of the '8', Barça has one foot in the final.