Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Barcelona, our weekly series to follow throughout La Liga’s 2025-26 season.
We will bring you key information and analysis on the biggest talking points in and around the Camp Nou, cutting through the noisy world of all things Barca with reporting you can trust.
The information contained in this article reflects multiple conversations with various sources at the Spanish champions, all of whom wanted to speak anonymously to protect relationships.
What’s the biggest talking point at Barcelona?
Whether Hansi Flick’s side can stage a comeback in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Atletico Madrid, having taken a huge step towards winning La Liga with a 4-1 win against local rivals Espanyol.
That game saw them set a new attendance record for the Camp Nou since its reopening, with 60,736 supporters watching on. Barca moved nine points clear of Real Madrid with the win — Alvaro Arbeloa’s side drew 1-1 with Girona the previous day — and now look very likely to win the league title, with just seven matches left of the league season.
The players performed a lap of honour around the stadium, which they do not usually do, while the crowd chanted “Yes we can” in unison.
That was a reference to the side’s most important game of the season so far on Tuesday: that game against Atletico. Barca must overturn a 2-0 deficit against the team that knocked them out of the Copa del Rey semi-finals. Atletico beat them 4-0 in the first leg of that tie and although Barca won 3-0 in the second leg, they were unable to squeeze through.
Sources within the Barcelona dressing room told The Athletic the team are convinced they can stage a comeback. They are extra motivated to beat Atletico to avoid being knocked out of two competitions by Diego Simeone’s men. And their priority is to win the Champions League over La Liga.
Barcelona players celebrate their win against Espanyol (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
“La Liga is why we play in the Champions League, but the dream for every manager, player and fan is to win the Champions League, and that’s why we’re there,” Flick told his pre-Espanyol press conference on Friday. “In every match, you can see that the team is a bit more motivated in the Champions League, and it’s the competition we want to win.”
That shattered Barca’s longstanding narrative under their legendary former coach Pep Guardiola, who always maintained that winning La Liga was the most important title, as it proved a team’s consistency.
Flick rested some players, including Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo and Joao Cancelo, for Espanyol, but there were few other changes to the line-up. Fermin Lopez started before being replaced in the second half, while Lamine Yamal and Pedri played all 90 minutes.
Gerard Martin went off halfway through with an ankle issue that looked to have complicated things for the Atletico tie — the 24-year-old has become a starting centre-back alongside Pau Cubarsi, who is suspended after his red card in the first leg. But it emerged after the match that Martin’s injury was just a minor niggle, so he will be fit to play on Tuesday at the Metropolitano in Madrid.
The big question mark is in midfield. Frenkie de Jong has been given the all-clear after returning from his hamstring injury and played for a few minutes in the second half against Espanyol. Marc Bernal will be back in the matchday squad but is still managing a sprained ankle.
What did we learn from Saturday’s game?
That in football, your mind is just as important as your feet.
Ferran Torres found the net again after two and a half months without scoring. He had looked as if he was lacking in confidence since that previous effort against Elche on January 31.
Like London buses, once he had scored his first, a second came soon after. His first was a well-taken header from a Yamal corner and the second was a delicate finish that caught goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic off guard — the sign of a player who seemed to have shed the pressure that game with his goal drought.
It is great news for the match against Atletico. In theory, Lewandowski should start — Flick has relied on the Poland striker for big games and he was rested against Espanyol — but, performing like this, Torres is almost certain to play a more prominent role than expected.
We also learned that Pedri is not quite at his best and that Yamal is more than up for the challenge of the comeback in the Spanish capital — the 18-year-old remains the key player driving his team forward in attack.
The team depends on Yamal, but we already knew that.
Lamine Yamal celebrates his goal against Espanyol (Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)
What should we look out for this week? What might we have missed last week?
Barcelona will not be going on a long pre-season tour this summer. After several seasons of travelling to far-flung locations such as the United States, Japan and South Korea, this year they will return to a more traditional summer training camp.
Barca sources say they will be based in the United Kingdom at St George’s Park, which is used by England’s national teams in Staffordshire. The camp is set to take place around July 27, although the dates — and their opponents in friendlies — are yet to be confirmed. From there, the club will travel to Morocco and other countries to play games that will help them generate revenue.
The idea arose from the difficulty of travelling to the U.S. this summer due to the World Cup being co-hosted across North America. The idea of returning to Asia did not appeal to Flick either, due to the long flight and the high humidity there in the summer.
The German suggested going to his homeland for the training camp, specifically the Black Forest, but the club have decided to go with a destination with historical significance for them. They previously held pre-season training camps at St George’s Park in 2014, 2015 — the year of the club’s second treble under Luis Enrique — and 2016.