Pedri González returned to the FC Barcelona lineup in the first official match in Montjuïc of the season. After the 'bad' that was the presentation at the Gamper against Tottenham (0-3), Hansi Flick's team showed a much better image against Athletic Club (2-1), a duel where the Canarian once again showed the quality and talent that characterizes him on the green.
The German coach put '8' in place of Marc Casadó, this being the only change to his eleven from matchday 1 against Valencia. With Marc Bernal as the only pivot, the team looked looser in attack, with Pedri being in charge of leading the Barça midfield that had Tegueste as its thermometer. With Ferran Torres leaning on the left and Raphinha a little more inclined on the right next to Lamine Yamal, González chose to move more from the center to the left to look for spaces and connect with Lewandowski.
Pedri created Lewandowski's winning goal
In total, the Canary Islander completed 46 of 53 passes (83%), with 5 recovered balls and a couple of completed dribbles in three attempts. Individually, the midfielder won 4 of 7 duels, with only one ball lost in the entire match and no infractions committed or received. Although, at times, he suffered from fatigue due to the intense heat, the '8' played the 90 minutes without physical setbacks and showing character in the midfield.
His most notable contribution, without a doubt, came in the 75th minute. Now without Ferran on the field, Pedri managed to overwhelm the left, serving a cross at mid-height along the baseline that goalkeeper Padilla half-cleared with his fist. The ball fell to Robert Lewandowski who, like a true 'killer', was standing near the penalty spot waiting to finish. The Pole caught the rebound first, with a right-footed shot into an empty goal to give Barça its second victory of the season. Although the assist does not count for the Tegueste player in the official statistics, his impact on the goal was decisive.
Hansi Flick, satisfied with Pedri's recovery
In the post-match press conference, Hansi Flick assessed the Canarian's individual performance, in addition to his physical recovery in a shorter period of time than estimated. "I have to thank the physios and doctors for their work. He is practically one hundred percent. Today, as in Valencia, he has provided balance, he has protected the ball, he has passion to combine... it is very positive to have him on the field" , pointed out the Barça coach.