Barcelona new signing makes instant impact on his debut vs Athletic Club

Barcelona new signing makes instant impact on his debut vs Athletic Club Barcelona maintained their solid start to the season with a 2-0 win over Athletic Club this midweek. Apart from the win, a major highlight of the game saw Rodri make his debut for Barcelona as he came on as a substitute for Marc Bernal. The World Cup winner was handed a thunderous ovation by the Spotify Camp Nou faithful, and he wasted little time in justifying the excitement. Rodri’s instant impact in numbers Rodri took command of the match almost the moment he stepped onto the pitch in the 67th minute, and his statistics underline just how influential he was. Rodri calmed the Barcelona midfield vs Athletic Club. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) In only 31 minutes and 50 seconds on the field, Rodri completed 25 passes, the exact same number Bernal had managed in 66 minutes. He also created a goalscoring chance and registered 29 individual interventions, just eleven fewer than the youngster despite playing half the time. His quality on the ball was evident too, boasting an 88% pass accuracy. The most telling difference, however, came in the final third, where Rodri completed six passes at an efficiency of 83.3%. By contrast, Bernal, who defended his position admirably, operated at 57.1% accuracy in that same advanced zone. Rodri’s ability to dictate the tempo of the game and retain possession made him a controlling presence Hansi Flick’s team lacked. Rodri will look to become a first-team regular. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) What’s next for Rodri? With his debut now out of the way, it will be interesting to see how Rodri can force his way into Flick’s starting eleven. The Spaniard admitted upon his unveiling that he was ready to play immediately following a minor procedure, and this cameo will only strengthen his case for more minutes. For now, Rodri has not been training with the group and has been continuing a separate recovery plan . As things stand, it is unlikely that he will start against Rayo Vallecano on Monday night. Barcelona have made a perfect start with back-to-back wins, but Rodri’s arrival gives Flick another elite option in the engine room.