Atletico Madrid Vs Barcelona, Ferran Torres' Sensational Glow

MADRID, THURSDAY – Ferran Torres continues to make waves under the guidance of coach Hansi Flick. The former Manchester City player's goal-scoring streak persists with Barcelona this season, including when he defeated the host Atletico Madrid, 1-0, in the second semifinal of the Spanish King's Cup at Civitas Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, early Thursday morning (3/4/2025) Western Indonesian Time. The result sets up an ideal final that will see Barca face Real Madrid.

Barca advanced to the final thanks to a 5-4 aggregate advantage. In the first semifinal at Barca's home ground, Atletico forced a 4-4 draw by capitalizing on Barca's defensive lapses near the end of the match.

This time, in the second semifinal, Flick made a surprising decision by benching Barcelona's main striker and goal machine, Robert Lewandowski. In a match as crucial as the Spanish King's Cup semifinal, benching Lewandowski, the most prolific player in Spain, might not be a wise decision. Instead, Flick assigned Torres to take on the role of a lone striker in his favored 4-2-3-1 formation.

Flick's decision proved to be correct. Torres became Barca's hero thanks to his only goal in the 27th minute. Torres' goal began with Barca's attempt to change the direction of the attack (switch play) to Lamine Yamal who was running on the right wing.

Yamal, with his sharp vision in gameplay, quickly passed the ball to Torres, who was making a run to create space inside Atletico's penalty box. Yamal's low pass was so precise that it only required a gentle tap from Torres to score a goal.

The process of Torres' goal might have been anticipated by Flick before the match, which is why he was preferred as a striker over Lewandowski. Unlike Lewandowski, who is more of a "fox in the box" type, Torres' movements are more fluid and harder for opponents to predict. The 25-year-old player is the type of striker who enjoys working hard by running extensively and creating space.

In addition to being a striker, Torres is also adept at playing as a right winger or attacking midfielder. His mobility and versatility make Torres a player favored by coaches. Yamal's precise pass may not necessarily be converted into a goal by Lewandowski, whose movements have increasingly slowed due to age.

With this, Torres extends his stellar performance under Flick. Torres has already scored five goals in four consecutive matches. He greatly enjoys working with Flick this season. Torres's goal tally this season has reached 16 goals in 35 matches across all competitions. This number far surpasses his achievement last season, where he only managed to score 11 goals.

“Hard work and self-confidence are the reasons I scored goals,” said Torres.

Torres' style of play, which is active in moving and opening up space, is indeed very suitable for facing Atletico who like to defend tightly in a 4-4-2 formation. This is not the first time Torres has radiated his sensation at the Metropolitano. In almost the same way, Torres also scored two goals in Barca's 4-2 win over Atletico in the Spanish League.

Another reason that prompted Flick to choose Torres as the main striker against Atletico is Lewandowski's desire to regain the title of top scorer in La Liga. The 36-year-old striker is competing closely with Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe for the "El Pichichi" award. That is why Flick is thinking of optimizing Lewandowski's contribution to the fullest in La Liga in order to increase his goal collection and beat Mbappe.

"When we win and score goals, his (Lewandowski's) chances of winning the Pichichi are probably bigger. But the most important thing is to focus on the team, to help the team," Flick said.

The success of advancing to the Spanish King's Cup final increases Barca's chances of winning three trophies this season (treble winner). "Blaugrana" currently leads the Spanish League standings, has qualified for the quarter-finals of the European Champions League, and has the chance to win the Spanish King's Cup. However, Barca must first defeat their eternal rivals, Real Madrid, in the final.

Keeping Barca's hopes of achieving a treble winner can be read as Flick's counterattack to those who criticized his tactical philosophy. Since his arrival this season, Flick has led Barca to abandon the ball-possession playing style that is the team's hallmark. The playing style that emphasizes ball possession was implemented by the previous coach, Xavi, who was part of Barca for a long time when he was still an active player.

Flick reworked Barca's style of play by maintaining the attacking idea, but armed with a high defensive line that is risky. This makes Barca more vulnerable to conceding goals through a quick counter-attack scheme. In addition, Flick transformed Barca into a team that plays more directly, aka attacking directly, instead of taking a long time to control the ball.

With such a style of play, Barca has succeeded in becoming a productive team. This season they have scored 140 goals in all competitions, more than any other team in Europe's top five leagues. However, Flick believes that Barca will be remembered not for how they played beautiful football, but for how many titles they won.

That is why he is ambitious to make the dream of achieving a treble winner come true. "This team has grown and I have told them. I am grateful for what they have done. However, this is football, so the most important thing is the title," he said.