Barcelona came away with a 1-0 win on Wednesday night courtesy of Raphinha’s strike against Benfica, despite going down to 10-men after just 22 minutes. The night had two clear heroes for Barcelona though, as Pedri admitted he would be giving the man of the match to teammate Wojciech Szczesny for his contributions.
The Canary Islander was once again in resplendent form though, exhibiting his very best both on the ball and off it. In recent months Pedri has stood out for his control of the game, while remaining incisive with the ball and working hard off it. Alongside the likes of Raphinha, Pedri is building a player of the season case for himself.
pic.twitter.com/LrLExp5aGA
— Actualité – Barça (@ActualiteBarca) March 5, 2025
Beyond his obvious quality on the ball, his tireless efforts in the middle of the pitch were on show at the Estadio da Luz, as illustrated by the distance he covered during the game. The 22-year-old eclipsed 13km during the match, the most of any player in the game, while Raphinha, Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde ranked in the top five alongside Fredrik Aursnes in a huge effort by the 10-man Barcelona.
After two seasons plagued by injuries, his return to peak physical condition has also become notable news for the Blaugrana. This season he has already surpassed the number of minutes he managed in every season since his breakout year. This season he has played 82.4% of Barcelona’s minutes in La Liga, his highest average yet. Aside from illness against Valencia, Pedri has not missed a single game this season, and has suffered no injuries.
90 touches60/64 passes (94%)2 key passes 2/3 dribbles completed9 duels won4 fouls won2 interceptions1 Pedri 💫 pic.twitter.com/fbZy2o8SNB
— Football España (@footballespana_) March 6, 2025
Playing with a revolving cast of midfielders around him, with Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Dani Olmo and Marc Casado battling for places, Pedri has been the one constant in the middle for Flick, and has taken his game to the next level under the German. Few saw him capable of controlling the game in what is generally a two at the base of midfield, but Pedri is now the engine of the Barcelona midfield.
Barcelona have recently sent Frenkie de Jong a concrete renewal proposal, and expect his answer in the coming weeks. There’s optimism that he will continue. @ferrancorreas
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 6, 2025
