Barcelona boss Flick backs Raphinha as best attacking option ahead of Valencia

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick says Raphinha is currently his best option to play as a central striker as his side prepare to face Valencia at Mestalla on Sunday.

The Catalan club have won all three of their opening La Liga matches against Elche, Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Bilbao, and will travel to Valencia looking to maintain their perfect start to the season.

Flick also provided an update on Lamine Yamal, who trained separately from the rest of the squad on Saturday after experiencing some discomfort. The teenager is expected to travel with Barcelona, although a decision on whether he will feature will be made closer to kick-off.

“Yamal trained individually but everything is fine and he will travel with us tomorrow, then we will decide whether he can play,” said Flick at his pre-match news conference.

He later added: “Yamal felt some pain, so I said it would be better for him to train individually and that is what we did. After training, he said everything was fine, so we hope he will travel with us and play in the match.”

Raphinha leads Barcelona’s captaincy group

Flick also explained the process behind Barcelona’s choice of captains. Raphinha has been named the club’s first captain, followed by Pedri, Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong and Lamine Yamal.

“Regarding the process of choosing the captains, I think my coaching staff and I have been here for two years and we now have a broader view of what is happening within the team,” said Flick.

“It was important for me to choose the captains myself, while the team chose the other three captains and that is what we did. The first captain is Raphinha, then Pedri, then Eric Garcia, then Frenkie and Lamine Yamal is fifth.”

Flick believes Raphinha’s movement and work rate make him particularly well suited to playing through the middle.

“Even when Raphinha plays on the flank as a winger, he always tends to move inside,” he said. “I think he needs to be involved in the game and at the moment he is performing brilliantly, so he is our best option as a striker.

“As I always say, he is also the player who starts the moves and leads the pressing very well because he has a great deal of strength and pace. That helps us a lot.”

Flick pleased with Jesus progress

Flick said he had been encouraged by what he had seen from Jesus in training, although the player is not yet fully fit. He suggested Jesus could be used for part of the match and become an important option, particularly after half-time.

“I enjoyed what I saw from Jesus in the last few training sessions,” said Flick. “Maybe he has not reached full fitness, but he is ready to play some minutes and could give the team an important option tomorrow, especially in the second half.

“I like his style of football. He is calm with the ball and in front of goal, and it is very good to see that.”

The Barcelona manager also discussed Jules Kounde’s possible use as a central defender. Kounde is a natural full-back at Barcelona and did not start the season as a regular starter, but Flick said the France international had responded positively.

“He is an exceptionally professional player and even after he did not start as a regular player at the beginning of the season, he sees it as a challenge,” said Flick.

“Of course, I spoke to him about playing in defence. I know he prefers to play as a full-back and he had a fantastic first season with us. We have to help him return to that level.”

Flick dismissed the need for Barcelona to draw conclusions from Real Madrid dropping points, saying his team must concentrate on their own performances.

“When we look at the match, Real Madrid played well and had many chances, but in the end this is football and these things happen,” he said.

“We want to focus on ourselves and play in our style, the way we want to play, and everyone must be 100% convinced about that.”

Flick added that Yamal would rather play a full match than complete an individual running session the following day, and said the club’s approach to managing him had been appropriate.

“Lamine is a player who always wants to play football. He is not one of those players who like doing individual running sessions and, for me, I prefer him to play 90 minutes rather than do a training session the next day. I think the way we dealt with him was right and I think it was good for him too.”