Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Barcelona, our weekly series to follow throughout La Liga’s 2025-26 season.
Every week, we will bring you key information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Barca with reporting you can trust.
The information contained in this article reflects multiple conversations with various sources at the Spanish champions, all of whom wanted to speak anonymously to protect relationships.
What’s the biggest talking point at Barcelona right now?
Barcelona reaching their best form at the most decisive moment of the season so far. Hansi Flick’s team remain one point clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga after their 3-1 win away to Elche on Saturday, with Madrid scraping past Rayo Vallecano 2-1 at the Bernabeu a day later.
If there is one criticism of this team, it is to do with their defence (23 goals conceded in their 22 La Liga games, to Real Madrid’s 18 and Atletico Madrid’s 17 in as many matches). In attack, they are creating chances like never before this season.
Oddly enough, their best performance may have been in the 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad two weeks ago, when they produced 25 shots but were regularly thwarted by goalkeeper Alex Remiro. According to dressing-room sources, that match in San Sebastian left them with a very good feeling despite the result and has set the tone for the rest of their season.
The best news is they are doing this without their key cog in central midfield, Pedri.
Flick has left no stone unturned in trying to find solutions to the 23-year-old Spain international’s absence with a hamstring injury. The German’s ability to respond to such challenges is valued highly by the Barca board.
It has not all been plain sailing due to the team’s busy schedule, and spending more than a month away from the Camp Nou between beating Osasuna 2-0 there on December 13 and the 3-0 win against Real Oviedo on January 25 due to a quirk in the fixture list. But overall, Flick’s team look to be on the right trajectory.
Hansi Flick’s team are on the right path (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The coach’s biggest concern right now is how many chances his team are missing — as was seen against Elche. Barcelona missed 10 big chances on Saturday, their most on record in a La Liga match since the 2010-11 season. Their expected goals (xG) figure of 6.16 was the highest La Liga single-game tally for that metric since Opta improved its model at the start of 2021-22.
“We created a lot of chances, but in front of the opponents’ goal we missed chances,” Flick told his post-match press conference. “This is the bad thing.”
But they have still scored seven times in their two matches this week, following the 4-1 home defeat of Copenhagen in the Champions League. It is not a bad problem for the manager to have.
What (else) did we learn from Saturday’s game?
Along the same lines as above, Lamine Yamal is also reaching the crucial time of the season in top form.
The 18-year-old forward was unstoppable against Elche. He scored the first goal, and was a constant nuisance for the home defence. According to WhoScored, he finished the game with a 72 per cent pass completion rate, made eight key passes and completed four of his eight dribbles. His performances have been impressive but the leadership he is showing is just as encouraging.
In Pedri’s absence, Fermin Lopez and Dani Olmo have established themselves alongside Frenkie de Jong in midfield. Their profiles complement each other, even if they are different players — with Olmo slowing the game and organising play, while Fermin is more direct. Although normally one or the other of those two plays, Flick has benefited from using both in recent games. Fermin is clearly enjoying himself, and this week also renewed his contract for another two years until 2031.
Marcus Rashford also scored against Elche — his 10th goal in all competitions on what is a season-long loan from Manchester United. The England forward is demonstrating why Barcelona want to keep him beyond the summer — although Flick urged him to show more in his Monday press conference.
“I think he still has a lot more potential to show,” the German said. “We always focus on goals, final passes… but, as a coach, with his dynamism, speed and technique, I think he can give us a lot more.”
What might we have missed this week? What’s coming up?
Two significant injuries were announced on Monday morning.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who joined Girona on loan last month for the rest of this season, has suffered a significant muscular injury which could keep him out for two months or more.
It remains to be seen whether this will mean Barcelona cutting short the German goalkeeper’s stay at their Catalan neighbours after just two appearances, but it is worrying news for the 33-year-old ahead of the summer’s World Cup after several other recent lay-offs. Flick said he felt “very sorry” for his compatriot in his press conference on Monday while saying Barca would have to “wait for the results” of tests on the ‘keeper.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen joined Girona on loan last month (Bruno Penas/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Raphinha is set to be out for a week after suffering a minor adductor injury in his right leg. The Brazil forward will miss the Copa del Rey quarter-final away to second-division Albacete on Tuesday.
“Honestly, I’m not happy with this situation because he’s a very important player,” Flick said on Monday. “We’ll have to see what needs to change, what he needs to change. We’re at an important point in the season and we need all our players available.”
There were some moves in the transfer market, even if no further business is expected involving the first team.
Pedro ‘Dro’ Fernandez’s move to Paris Saint-Germain, who are paying around €8million for the 18-year-old midfielder, was made official. Two reinforcements of the same age were brought in for Barca Atletic, the club’s youthful ‘B’ team who play in the Spanish fourth tier — Juwensley Onstein, a Dutch centre-back, has signed from Belgian side Genk until 2028, and Egyptian forward Hamza Abdelkarim is on loan from Al Ahly in a deal that includes an option to buy. The latter is being targeted for promotion to the first-team squad.
Those two signings follow that of forward Joaquin Delgado, an older player at 23 whose loan from Real Oviedo for the rest of the season was announced last month.
Centre-back Patricio Pacifico, 19, is expected to arrive from Uruguayan side Defensor Sporting on an initial loan, while centre-back Andres Cuenca’s loan exit has been made official. The 18-year-old has renewed his deal until 2027 to avoid him leaving for free this summer and subsequently joined second-tier Sporting Gijon.
Additional reporting: Pol Ballus
