Barcelona have already played two friendlies this summer, and there have been some new things we've seen from Ronald Koeman.
Thus, Mundo Deportivo believe that there are at least five suggestions about the coach's plans for the 2021/22 season that can be drawn out the most recent game against Girona. Here they are.
1. Inaki Pena played the entire match — with Marc-Andre ter Stegen set to miss the start of the season and Neto being on the transfer market, there's a chance that Inaki will be Koeman's first option. There have been reports that the coach doesn't trust the young goalkeeper, but the Girona game suggests otherwise.
2. Nico Gonzalez started as the lone pivot — the 19-year-old missed the first pre-season friendly due to stomach problems but was back for the second one. Miralem Pjanic, who started as the defensive midfielder in the previous match, was benched in Nico's favour.
3. Yusuf Demir is preferred ahead of Alex Collado — despite Alex having more experience and being from La Masia, Koeman seems to like newcomer Demir better than Collado.
4. The same backline played from the start — Sergino Dest, Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Alejandro Balde were the Dutchman's pick to start both against Gimnastic de Tarragona and Girona.
5. 16-year-old Gavi is getting his chances — the youngster was very good in the first game he played for the seniors, so the 56-year-old gave him another chance. To his credit, Gavi didn't disappoint.
However, there is another observation Mundo Deportivo don't make that Tribuna.com believe is important to point out.
6. Back to 4-3-3 — the Dutch coach tried several formations during the 2020/21 season and the set-up with three centre-backs seemed to be the most suitable considering the options he had. Now, Koeman is back to the traditional 4-3-3 after reported pressure from Joan Laporta who demanded the team plays a more attacking brand of football.
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