{"id":72290,"date":"2026-08-18T19:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T19:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/72290\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T19:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T19:49:09","slug":"the-54-goal-hole-at-barcelona-flick-needs-more-than-a-new-no-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/72290\/","title":{"rendered":"The 54-goal hole at Barcelona: Flick needs more than a new No. 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

FC Barcelona have changed their attack dramatically this summer, but there is one number that should prevent anyone from getting too comfortable: 54.<\/p>\n

That is how many goals Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford combined to score last season. All three are no longer at the club.<\/p>\n

It is easy to look at each departure individually and understand the logic.<\/p>\n

Lewandowski was reaching the end of his cycle and his time at the top, Ferran\u2019s sale was a piece of excellent financial business and Rashford was only on loan.<\/p>\n

Collectively, though, by letting the trio go, Bar\u00e7a have removed a huge part of their production line from last season.<\/p>\n

One striker cannot replace three goalscorers<\/p>\n

That is why the pending striker file matters as much as it does.<\/p>\n

Julian Alvarez is obviously the dream solution. If Barcelona somehow get him, they are signing much more than a No. 9.<\/p>\n

\"JulianThe dream target. (Photo by Julian Finney\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

He can score, press, combine and create chances for himself. However, even Alvarez should not arrive carrying the expectation that he alone replaces those 54 goals.<\/p>\n

More importantly, it seems very improbable that Atletico Madrid sell the South American this summer, especially to Bar\u00e7a.<\/p>\n

Anthony Gordon helps. He gives Flick pace, directness and another attacker capable of reaching double figures.<\/p>\n

Karim Adeyemi can contribute too, whether from wide areas or centrally.<\/p>\n

However, Bar\u00e7a simply cannot calculate this as Gordon plus Adeyemi plus a new striker equals problem solved. The entire attack needs to absorb the difference.<\/p>\n

Lamine\u2019s next step could be goals<\/p>\n

The most obvious candidate is Lamine Yamal.<\/p>\n

Lamine is already Barcelona\u2019s most dangerous attacker, but there is another level available if he becomes more ruthless inside the penalty area.<\/p>\n

Flick\u2019s plan to use him increasingly through central areas<\/a> could accelerate that process.<\/p>\n

We should not demand 30 goals from him simply because he is the superstar. However, moving from being primarily a creator towards becoming an elite scorer as well would transform Bar\u00e7a\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n

Dani Olmo is another player who needs to contribute more consistently. If he stays fit and spends more time close to goal, double figures should be a realistic expectation.<\/p>\n

Then there is Raphinha. His ability to attack space, arrive at the back post and score without dominating possession remains extremely valuable.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the Brazilian, fitness deserted him at the wrong times last season, but he certainly looks fit and raring to go during pre-season.<\/p>\n

\"AnthonyGordon and Adeyemi help but Barcelona need more. (Picture credit: X\/@FCBarcelona)<\/p>\n

Bar\u00e7a need goals from everywhere<\/p>\n

There is also a midfield element to it.<\/p>\n

Everyone knows by now that Fermin Lopez has goals in him, but both Pedri and Gavi can look to increase their numbers.<\/p>\n

Set pieces should be treated as a viable goalscoring opportunity and trained accordingly, rather than being considered an afterthought.<\/p>\n

New arrival Rodri<\/a>, in particular, could add a lot of value with his heading ability from corners and free-kicks and his long-range screamers.<\/p>\n

Flick\u2019s best Barcelona cannot become dependent on one striker scoring every weekend. That was part of the problem with the late Lewandowski era.<\/p>\n

Now that they look set to start the season without a No. 9, everyone needs to take up the responsibility.<\/p>\n

Gordon plus a striker can be enough, but only collectively<\/p>\n

So, is Gordon plus one elite striker enough?<\/p>\n

Probably, but only if Barcelona stop thinking about replacing 54 goals with one player.<\/p>\n

If the new No. 9 contributes 20 to 25, Gordon adds 10 to 15, and Lamine, Olmo, Raphinha and Fermin collectively increase their output, suddenly those missing goals do not look impossible to recover.<\/p>\n

If there is one thing going for all these players, it is that Flick\u2019s system is designed to maximise goalscoring output.<\/p>\n

Flick\u2019s challenge now is to channel his new attacking resources and ensure that the system\u2019s collective strength makes them more dangerous.<\/p>\n

It does not necessarily need to lead to exactly 54 goals, but it remains to be seen who takes over the mantle as Bar\u00e7a\u2019s primary goalscorer this upcoming season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FC Barcelona have changed their attack dramatically this summer, but there is one number that should prevent anyone…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,223,325,934,930,674,936,935],"class_list":["post-72290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-featured","tag-ferran-torres","tag-hansi-flick","tag-julian-alvarez","tag-marcus-rashford","tag-robert-lewandowski"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}