Barcelona go into El Clasico somewhat short of resources, with a lengthy injury list for Hansi Flick to contend with for their visit to the Santiago Bernabeu. The Blaugrana are two points behind Real Madrid, and have been struggling to operate their pressing system in the same manner as last season.
That injury list includes Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski, which leaves Marcus Rashford, Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal as the obvious forward line. The only natural forward on their bench would then be Roony Bardghji, suggesting the Swedish talent could be set to play a role.
Bardghji reveals best friend in Barcelona dressing room
Bardghji arrived in the summer from Copenhagen in exchange for €2.5m, and has already appeared six times, showing flashes of his ability. It appears he has settled well, and he revaled that one of his main supports has been Rashford.
“I’m very close to Rashford. We arrived at the same time, so everything was new for us. We always trained together, doing the exercises. Everything was new, so yes, we are quite close. But, I mean, the whole team helped me a lot,” he told BeIN Sports (via MD).
Tomorrow Koundé should train and he should be available for Sunday. @santiovalle
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 24, 2025
Bardghji contradicts Hansi Flick message
As the interview progressed, Bardghji was asked why Barcelona’s pressing, and subsequently its high offside line, are struggling to operate with the same effectiveness as last season.
“First and foremost, we’re a team that likes to have the ball, so we have to be extremely good with the ball in attack. And well, you ask me about the defensive part… that’s not my thing, you know?”
“But no, we’ve shown that defence helped us a lot last season, and I don’t think it’s time to change anything. That’s between the defenders, the back line, and the coach. For my part, I don’t know if we should change anything or not, but I trust the defenders we have and that they can stop any player. So I just focus on the offensive part; that’s my job. But, of course, when you face good players, you have to be more careful, that’s obvious. But yes, we’ll see.”
Why Hansi Flick may not be happy with Bardghji’s response
Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia and Pedri have all pointed out that Barcelona’s frontline have not been pressing as hard as they were last year, creating further issues throughout the team. Not to mention Hansi Flick, who has stated on numerous occasions already that ‘defending is the job of the whole team’, and that ‘defending starts with the forwards’. Bardghji’s response suggests that he does not yet have the same understanding.
It would be unfair to criticise Bardghji too harshly, a 19-year-old who has just arrived, and has not shown any issues with the pressing himself. However Flick will definitely want to emphasize his message to his forwards again.
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