"Barcelona has no striker, so Hansi Flick decided to create one"

No real striker? No problem. Barcelona continues to look great at the start of the season. The Spanish champion won 2:0 yesterday, Thursday, against Bilbao and maintained a perfect record.

"The only reason Barcelona didn't score more goals is Unai Simon. The goalkeeper prevented a historic rout. Barcelona has no striker, but it has a lot of football. Hansi Flick created strikers". Raphinha scored his third goal of the season yesterday and Flick was asked at the end if he is the best number 9:

"We don't know that. For me, what is important when we have such a game plan, and when we rely on Raphinha as a center forward or any other player in this position, is that we stick to our plan. He is showing excellent ability. He is great, dynamic and very useful for us. His intensity, his movement and his contribution to this goal are exactly what we need".

By the way, the coach made history yesterday. He fielded a lineup where all players are under 30 and their average age is 23.18 — a record for a match at Camp Nou. The previous record was set in December 2011 in a Champions League match against BATE Borisov.

Meanwhile, the Julian Alvarez issue continues to make noise. The strongman at Atletico Madrid, Miguel Angel Gil Marin, went on the attack again:

"Julian is not feeling well. There are people trying to trick him and confuse him. I am sorry for this because we have been working with him for a long time, he is a great person, a professional and a great player, but now he is completely confused".

The CEO reiterated that the club will not conduct contacts with Barcelona:

"The lies, the lack of ethics, the lack of transparency, the lack of professionalism", he said, referring to Joan Laporta's public statement that Barcelona is ready for a deal at any moment. "It disgusts me. We will not negotiate with them. I have been in the football world for over 30 years and I give my word — Julian will not move to Barcelona".