Rodri already performing for Barça as Hansi Flick manages his workload

Rodri is already delivering immediate performances for Barça, but Hansi Flick is managing his use carefully. The circumstances of his arrival explain that gradual start: fatigue after the tournament, won as a leader of the Spanish national team, the subsequent holidays, uncertainty over his future and his move to Barça, delayed by a few days due to administrative formalities, meant he was not called up for the opening Liga match at Elche (0-5). He then came off the bench against Athletic (2-0) and Rayo (5-2).

Those who worked with Rodrigo Hernández, 30, on a daily basis at Manchester City over recent seasons believe the level he is already showing at Barça is only a glimpse of what he can offer once he regains full physical condition and masters all the automatisms of Hansi Flick’s distinctive system. That system resembles Pep Guardiola’s at his former club, while featuring differences, particularly a preference for verticality over control, with effects that are sometimes positive and sometimes less so.

Since those first appearances, Rodri has become a starter, but he has only completed the matches with the tightest scorelines: against Levante (2-4) and Sevilla (1-3). He was taken off at the hour mark against Valencia (0-5) and Racing (7-2), then in the 83rd minute against Feyenoord in the Champions League (5-1).

That management is reflected in an average of 62.71 minutes per match played. It has been enough to make him Barça’s leading ball winner in Liga, with 9 recoveries, while he has posted a 94.2% pass-completion rate across his seven official matches.