A goal deluge that soothes Barcelona's regret over the Álvarez deal
Four rounds in, and the message is already clear: Barcelona are the strongest candidates to win the Spanish league title, having lifted the trophy in each of the last two seasons.
According to the newspaper Sport, the sporting management led by Deco has handed Hansi Flick an excellent squad after an exceptional summer window, and the German coach is adding even more shine to a magnificent team.
At the Mestalla, Barcelona hit five goals for the third time in four rounds, taking them to 17 in four matches. That has quietened the doubts raised by the departures of Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, along with the failure to sign Julian Alvarez.
Barcelona are likely to chase the Argentine striker again, with the player still unhappy at Atletico Madrid. For now, though, nobody at the Camp Nou regrets not landing him.
"Sport" explained that Flick has invented a false striker in Raphinha, and the player has delivered an excellent output in the role.
Six goals have made the Brazilian the competition's top scorer, and he enjoys good support from the likes of Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal, who have each scored 4 goals.
Fermin Lopez has started the season in excellent fashion after a miserable summer, when an unfortunate injury robbed him of a place at the World Cup.
Yamal, meanwhile, is smiling again. He scored his first two goals of the season last Monday against Rayo Vallecano, then repeated the trick with two more at the Mestalla.
Right now, Flick's Barcelona are the only team to have collected all 12 available points in La Liga, and they have started to impose their dominance on their rivals.
It is still early, and things could change a great deal. Even so, Barcelona already lead Real Madrid by 3 points after Jose Mourinho's team lost to Real Betis, while Atletico Madrid have already dropped 5 points.
The Rojiblancos justified their stance by insisting they would not sell Julian Alvarez to Barcelona and strengthen a direct rival. Yet Atletico have already fallen behind after four rounds, having dropped points against Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao.
