A lethal weapon... Flick resorts to a tried-and-tested trick to catch Atlético

According to the Spanish newspaper *Mundo Deportivo*, Flick devised a tactic of deploying Dani Olmo as a false nine after the goal-scoring output of the duo Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres had dipped over the past two months, prompting the German manager to seek an unconventional solution.

The newspaper revealed that a tactical discussion took place within Barcelona’s coaching staff following the hard-fought victory over Rayo Vallecano, courtesy of Araujo’s goal, regarding the merits of changing the identity of the spearhead, with a choice between Olmo, Rashford and Firmino, before Flick settled on giving Dani a chance after the international break, a decision that yielded significant attacking effectiveness, resulting in an assist and a direct contribution to two clear-cut scoring opportunities.

Olmo began the match against the Rojiblancos with strict instructions to drop deep to receive the ball, a tactic through which he succeeded in drawing defenders such as Le Normand out of position, creating space for the runs of Marcus Rashford and Fermin López.

The Spanish star also showcased his technical ability in tight spaces through "tiki-taka" passing and skilful dribbling, the highlight of which was his pass through the legs of Jerry.

The first signs of this technical weapon were evident in the 35th minute, following a move involving Lamine Yamal, where Olmo received the ball and skilfully turned before passing to Fermin, who in turn laid it off to Yamal, with the latter firing a lob that struck the post.

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The effectiveness of this ‘trick’ was clearly evident in the 42nd minute when Olmo used his ability to link up with Rashford, playing him a decisive pass that put him one-on-one with goalkeeper Musso, from which he scored the equaliser for Barça.

The excitement did not stop there; the 70th minute saw the most beautiful moment of the match when Olmo received a late ball from Ferran Torres, flicking it over the defender with a magical touch of his right heel and continuing his run into the box, before laying it back to Torres, who struck it powerfully only for goalkeeper Musso to make a brilliant save. in an attack the newspaper described as deserving of a goal given its tactical brilliance.

The newspaper explained that Olmo’s success in playing the role of a false nine has encouraged Flick to repeat this experiment against Atlético next Wednesday in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.