FC Barcelona v Real Racing Club de Santander - LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27
BARCELONA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 16: Joao Cancelo of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring his team’s third goal with teammates Raphinha and Karim Adeyemi during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between FC Barcelona and Real Racing Club de Santander at Spotify Camp Nou on September 16, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
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Nick Batlle Nick Batlle has been a lead writer for Barca Blaugranes since 2020, regularly delivering tactical analysis and opinion articles to the site. A regular visitor to Barca and a true culer, Nick is an admirer of the beautiful game wherever it’s played.
Football is supposed to be fun. When it looks effortless, that’s when you know you’re a great team.
Barcelona aren’t just playing the game at the moment, they are in a true flow state.
It’s starting to look like, for the first time in a long time, an actual manifestation of Johan Cruyff’s dream of total football.
Raphinha just scored a hat trick. How could someone who never played the nine all of a sudden turn into the best at the position in the world?
Barcelona’s Brazilian forward #11 Raphinha celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Racing Santander at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on September 16, 2026. (Photo by Lluis GENE / AFP via Getty Images)
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It’s not that Hansi Flick was a genius when he put the Brazilian there. It was an experiment out of necessity after all. It works because this upgraded version of Flick’s Barcelona is supposed to be positionless.
Sometimes, it’s Lamine Yamal popping up in the middle. Sometimes it’s Xavi Espart. Against Racing Santander, it was Joao Cancelo who demonstrated what this style of football is all about by surprising everyone with two screamers from outside of the box.
Play off of your teammates and let the game flow through you.
Of course, it helps to have a variety of dangerous weapons, and Flick this season has more to work with than he’s ever had at Barcelona. The world should take notice.
TOPSHOT - Barcelona’s German forward #14 Karim Adeyemi reacts after missing a chance to score during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Racing Santander at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on September 16, 2026. (Photo by Lluis GENE / AFP via Getty Images)
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Karim Adeyemi’s spirit is contagious. This is someone we all knew had supreme talent, and superhuman physical ability.
Playing with Barcelona, we are seeing how lethal he can truly be when surrounded by world class talent.
Of course, the fact that Racing Santander played so openly created the perfect conditions for a speed demon to shine. Against other teams, Anthony Gordon will be better suited. One option for the left wing that is no frills, and another that is all frills. Both are valuable depending on the circumstance.
What Adeyemi gives Barcelona is the directness that Flick demands. This is what makes this Barcelona so different than any other that we’ve seen in club history. On Wednesday, it wasn’t the scoring, but the constant danger, which included drawing two penalties.
BARCELONA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 16: Iker Luque of Real Racing Club fouls Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona inside the box to give FC Barcelona a penalty during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between FC Barcelona and Real Racing Club de Santander at Spotify Camp Nou on September 16, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
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The control is still there for Barcelona, but it’s not control for the sake of it. Barcelona continues to be a technical machine, but they are turbo charging it with an energy and intensity that starts on the defensive end.
The counter pressing has been suffocating, and as a result the quality chances in front of goal are endless.
This team is smiling because even though they’re playing hard, it’s working so well that it feels effortless. Footballers live to score goals. Now, their inner child has been unleashed at the highest level.
BARCELONA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 16: Joao Cancelo of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammate Lamine Yamal during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between FC Barcelona and Real Racing Club de Santander at Spotify Camp Nou on September 16, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
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It’s a joy to watch. Even more so because it’s leading to wins. This undefeated start is unprecedented.
One more game to go now against a strong Sevilla side before the international break.
Keep the party going, and then Flick will have to start managing his way through the thick of the calendar where certain players will surely be in need of rest.
There’s plenty of firepower on the forward line, and that could be the very factor that gives the Blaugrana an edge that they didn’t have in the past as the marathon season rolls along.