Barcelona boss Flick to rely on experience amid injury crisis

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick will rely on his experienced players as the Blaugrana navigate an injury crisis early on in his first campaign at the helm.

A perfect seven wins from as many matches in LaLiga this season means Barca could match the best start in their league history on Saturday, when they visit Osasuna.

Only once have Barca won their first eight matches to start a league campaign, doing so in 2013-14 under Gerardo Martino but ultimately finishing second to Atletico Madrid that season.

Flick's impressive start at Camp Nou has come despite injuries biting at his squad, with goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen the latest casualty as he underwent knee surgery this week.

He has joined Dani Olmo, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Ronald Araujo, Fermin Lopez and Andreas Christensen in the treatment room, while Inigo Martinez is doubtful after suffering an injury against Getafe on Wednesday.

De Jong and Gavi are closing in on returns, but Flick is confident in his team's ability to cope in their absence.

7 - @Hansiflickk has become only the third @FCBarcelona´s manager to win his first seven #LaLiga games, after Gerardo Martino in 2013, who won his first eight, and Ernesto Valverde in 2017, who won his first seven. Full. pic.twitter.com/ssGKZfHuqs

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"This is about quality of the players. They are very well prepared and train with so much passion and mentality," Flick said. "Evidently, as we did before, there will be some rotations.

"But also it's important the experienced players are with us, like Raphinha and [Robert] Lewandowski. Inigo received a blow, so we will see how that is.

"From what I see in training, [De Jong] is in good shape, also Gavi picking up the pace.

"Frenkie is very close to returning. Tomorrow he will have a rest because he needs it, he trained a lot."

The return of De Jong, who last played in April, could be a major boost for Barcelona as they brace for a tough October, when they host Bayern Munich in the Champions League three days before visiting Real Madrid in LaLiga.

"De Jong is an experienced player and he can help us greatly, even if he plays 20 minutes, but we will see what happens next week," Flick said.

Flick was also asked what it would mean to equal Barca's best start to a season, but the German is focused purely on the task of overcoming Osasuna.

"It's always great to win though we aren't focusing on the record," he said.

"From 11 points, Osasuna have won 10 points at home, where the crowd really gets behind them and I like that atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Barca have been banned from selling tickets for their next Champions League away game, at Red Star Belgrade on November 6, after their supporters were found guilty of racist behaviour during their match against Monaco.

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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 27, 2024