Gavi, ‘on fire’: He’s stealing, fighting and running as usual

Not even nearly a year out of action or a serious knee injury stopped him. Gavilike a glove in Hansi Flick’s plans. The Sevillian midfielder made three starts as a starter, something he had not done since November 2023, until he parted ways with the Spanish National Team.

He Gavi’s performance removed any doubtif anything, about his football or physical level after suffering what is one of the most difficult injuries a player can face in his entire career.

Gavi gradually settled into eleven. He wore shorts again on October 20against Sevilla, and did not start until November 23, when he played 77 minutes in a draw against Celta in Balaídos. Until then, the most he played in a game was 30 minutes against Red Star in the Champions League. However, the midfielder rolled on his own. He already has 6 starts in total and his impact in Barça’s latest games has been very high: help against Atlético, goal and assist against Athletic and goal against Betis. All in less than a month.

There was no stopping Gavi, who passed more than ever. His scoring average has also improved in recent campaigns, although he still needs to accumulate more minutes to make a more accurate comparison. In any case, its performance is more than remarkable: In the less than half a minute he played last season before his injury, he scored the same goals and provided another assist, 2 and 2, respectively. The data indicates that it will surpass the records of 22-23, if this performance continues.

The interesting thing is that Gavi doesn’t seem afraid or ashamed of the shock. From his return to the Primera and until now, the young Barça player is the seventh midfielder who has faced the most duels, with 20.91 per 90 minutes, who has won the eighth most, with more than 8 duels resolved in his favor. Another fact that proves that Gavi walks fearlessly on the grass is that This is the midfield player with the most fouls per 90 minutes3.64, in the First Division since his return. At 2.34 he is followed by Brais Méndez. A definite difference… In addition, he had the second most recoveries in the final third zone, after Jude Bellingham.

Does having a serious injury affect Gavi’s physical capacity? Not in the case of the one born in Los Palacios and Villafranca: we are talking about player covering the most kilometers per 90 minutes in the First Divisionwith a distance of 12.46 kilometers traveled. He also does it with a high intensity, as he is the third player in the national championship of the League who runs the most kilometers, specifically. 2.27 kilometers at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometers per hour. And he has the second most high-intensity actions (between 20 and 25 km/h) accumulated per game, with 59.26.

Gavi, then, returns to his power or so the numbers indicate. Flick is to be congratulated for having the international, providing fuel, good ball handling and coming to a Barça that will return to a Liga that can easily lead this campaign and the leadership they are trying to regain.