FC Barcelona are coming off an excellent nine-match winning run in La Liga that has allowed them to consolidate their place at the summit of the league table. [The latest in a long list of victims was local rivals Espanyol](https://semprebarca.com/three-talking-points-as-barcelona-beat-espanyol-2-0-in-la-liga/).
This run has more or less coincided with Flick trying out a new central defensive partnership. It was a decision he made for the game against Athletic Club, just after the November international break, and the duo have not looked back.
Now, according to [Mundo Deportivo](https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/fc-barcelona/20260105/1002596014/dupla-centrales-titulares-mas-alinea-flick.html), Hansi Flick has a new favourite central defensive partnership: Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martín. The Spanish duo have featured 8 times as a pairing since the Athletic game, surpassing the Cubarsi and Araujo duo (7).
Cubarsi has been a mainstay in the back line ever since Hansi Flick arrived at the club, and that has continued this season, but the identity of his partner had been a game of Russian roulette at best, until very recently.
While Araujo and Christensen failed to nail down starting berths and Eric Garcia found a home elsewhere on the pitch, Gerard Martin has put his hand up and made that position his own. The best part is that he has looked quite at home in it.
Now, this is not to say that Martin is the second coming of Maldini or that he can be the main option as a centre-back going forward. However, credit must be given to him for emerging as an excellent stopgap for a problematic role at Barcelona.
Meanwhile, even as Flick identifies temporary solutions, Deco and Laporta need to move in the market to sign a new central defender for Barcelona, one who can emerge as a leader alongside Pau Cubarsí. It is the least the club can do for the German manager, and let us wait and see how things play out.