FC Barcelona ended a successful tour of the United States with a penalty shootout defeat against AC Milan. Once the passage through North American lands is closed, Hansi Flick and his staff will prepare to make decisions after the evaluations carried out in the preparatory matches against City, Real Madrid and the Rossoneri. The German has dropped which players he likes and those who do not fit into his plans, and with less than 10 days to officially start the season, he must begin to make a 'screen'.
And in the duel against the team led by Paulo Fonseca, Flick began to give clues about his definitive discard. Although the case of the youth players is particular (Kochen and Alexis Olmedo, for example, have not played a single minute on the tour, but they are still in youth age), the minutes of some members of the first team have attracted attention . In principle, the Joan Gamper Trophy next Monday the 12th would be the definitive 'rehearsal' for the start of the course, so in the coming days the definitive 'list' of the German will be seen, although there would already be two clear 'singled out'.
The first of them, and as expected, is Vitor Roque. The Brazilian saw how Pau Víctor 'snatched' his place in the center of the forward line in the clash against Manchester City, so, in his few opportunities, the footballer was forced to play on the wing. His little influence on the game, born from the striker's discomfort on the left side, was contrasted by the great 'irruption' of the Sant Cugat player, who celebrated a goal. In the match before his debut in the United States, against Olot, the South American had missed a penalty, so the feelings were less and less positive.
In the summer Classic against Real Madrid, Flick once again opted for Pau Víctor to accompany Lewandowski up front and the Catalan responded again with a double. Meanwhile, Roque came on in the 77th minute instead of the Pole and was barely able to contribute to the attack. Finally, against Milan, Hansi again 'sacrificed' Vitor to give the duo of Lewy and Pau a chance, leaving 'Tigrinho' with just 13 minutes of play and with the clear message that in order to have continuity, he must look for a new destination.
A discard on the side
For his part, Julián Araujo was the other major victim of Barça's time in North America. The Mexican started from the start against City, but fell into ostracism against Madrid and Milan. Although he performed well against the 'skyblues' in a position that is not his, the fact of not playing on the side seemed like an 'indication' on Hansi's part. The German has not given him action in these last two duels, even betting on Álex Valle with a changed leg, so he seems 'condemned' to change scenery to get minutes.