Hansi Flick’s Barcelona can be compared to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, FC Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup concluded after his side’s defeat in the Champions League. The Danish coach even believes the current Barca surpasses the once unstoppable star-studded team in one particular aspect.
Barcelona beat FC Copenhagen 4-1 on Wednesday night, but the scoreline only tells part of the story.
For a short spell, especially before the interval, the reigning Danish champions looked like they might turn the game into something uncomfortable for the hosts. They pressed with courage, tried to play forward when opportunities appeared, and had moments where Barcelona were forced to manage the game rather than dominate it.
That early belief did not last. After the break, Barcelona shifted up several gears, increased the tempo, and started squeezing Copenhagen higher and higher up the pitch. The match became one sided in the way so many games become when a top side decides it is time to end the suspense. The final 4-1 reflected that second half pattern, with Barcelona controlling the rhythm, winning the key duels, and punishing any loss of structure from the visitors.
Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup was realistic afterward. He felt his team could have caused even more problems in the first half, and he did not hide that small frustration, but he also sounded like someone who understood the broader gap that exists at this level. His first reaction was to defend his players and protect their effort.
We gave everything against a fantastic team, I cannot blame my players for anything, Neestrup said, in comments reported by Mundo Deportivo. Then he delivered the line that will travel the furthest. The 37 year old looked at Barcelona performance after the interval and reached for one of the biggest references in modern football.
The Barca we saw in the second half can be compared to Pep Guardiola teams, he said. And if you compare it to Barca in 2010, this current team also does not make mistakes on the ball. It really is a top team with very good players.
That is not a casual comparison. Guardiola Barcelona became a benchmark for control, pressing triggers, positional play, and suffocating opponents through constant circulation. When an opposing coach brings up that era, it usually means the game felt like it was being played on Barcelona terms only, with the opponent chasing shadows and being dragged out of shape by the speed of decision making.
Neestrup also highlighted something specific, and it is arguably the biggest compliment he could give: that this Barcelona side makes no mistakes on the ball. It is one thing to keep possession. It is another to keep it with such security that the opponent almost never gets a transition chance through a simple turnover. From Copenhagen viewpoint, that meant fewer moments to run, fewer opportunities to counter, and far more energy spent defending without reward.
A key face of that control, and the headline performer on the night, was Lamine Yamal. The winger scored 1 goal and provided 1 assist, delivering another decisive contribution and once again being named UEFA Man of the Match. His output is becoming routine, which is perhaps the most striking part: he is doing this at 18, on the biggest stage, against opponents who are already designing their entire defensive plan around stopping him.
The numbers underline how unusual his early career has been. Yamal now has 8 goals and 8 assists in the Champions League, already more than Kylian Mbappé had produced in the competition at the same age. That comparison matters because it frames Yamal not as a promising teenager, but as a player whose productivity is already in the category normally reserved for generational forwards.
There is also an extra detail that makes Copenhagen night feel like another stepping stone rather than a peak. Yamal does not turn 19 until 13 July, which gives him plenty of time to keep building those totals before he leaves his teenage years behind. When you are already delivering match winning moments and piling up elite numbers, every additional month becomes another opportunity to stretch the ceiling of what is considered normal.
Hansi Flick, too, spoke about Yamal in a way that shows both admiration and a clear coaching plan. He praised the teenager not just for the final product, but for the adjustments he is making to survive the extra attention that comes with being Barcelona most dangerous wide threat.
He has to adapt because opponents sometimes put three players on him, Flick said on Barcelona website. But he has improved tremendously, also defensively. And I am happy about that, he is extremely important for us.
That defensive note is important. Young attackers often shine in highlights, then get exposed when games become tactical or when opponents target their side in transitions. Flick emphasis suggests Barcelona want Yamal to become complete, not just spectacular. If he is improving without the ball while remaining decisive with it, then he stops being a talent opponents can wait out, and becomes a constant, all phase problem.
For Copenhagen, the match can still be valuable despite the 4-1 defeat. Neestrup tone suggested pride in the first half and an acceptance of the lesson from the second. At this level, the smallest drop in concentration, the slightest delay in stepping out, or one missed duel can cascade into a 10 minute spell where the game disappears. That is what elite teams do: they turn control into waves, waves into chances, and chances into goals.
For Barcelona, the bigger message is the one Neestrup unintentionally delivered. When an opposing coach comes away comparing your second half to Guardiola era dominance, and when your youngest star is putting up record level numbers while also improving defensively, it signals a team that is not just winning, but building an identity that opponents can feel in real time.
