Hansi Flick’s first year at FC Barcelona could hardly have gone better. A domestic treble, 88 La Liga points, 102 goals scored, and a Champions League semifinal left no doubt: the Blaugrana are back among Europe’s elite. On Matchday 2, they travel to Valencia to face newly promoted Levante, a side that looks set for a baptism of fire in its first home match of the season.Barca opened their campaign with a routine 3-0 win at Mallorca, even though bizarre circumstances saw their opponents reduced to nine men by halftime. Still, the Catalans controlled every aspect of the game, with Lamine Yamal once again the standout — providing flair, end product, and the cutting edge that made him La Liga’s top assist provider last year.Now, Flick welcomes back his world-class striker: Robert Lewandowski. The 37-year-old, fresh from injury, may not start but could feature from the bench. Last season, he scored 27 league goals and remains one of Europe’s deadliest finishers. He will be supported by new signing Marcus Rashford, Raphinha, Dani Olmo, and a midfield trio of Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, and Gavi — arguably the deepest squad in Spain.Julian Calero’s Levante started the season with a 2-1 defeat at Alaves. While the Frogs fought hard, the gulf in class is obvious. They have won just 6 of 45 previous meetings with Barcelona, and not since 2019. Worse still, they’ve conceded three goals in each of their last three encounters with the reigning champions.Levante may rely on energy and home crowd support, but their defensive structure is unlikely to contain the champions’ waves of attacks. With Barca averaging nearly three goals per game last season and showing no signs of slowing down, it could get ugly.

汉西·弗里克在巴塞罗那的第一年简直不能再好了。国内三冠王，88个西甲积分，102个进球，再加上欧冠半决赛，这一切都让他们毫无疑问地回到了欧洲豪门之列。在第二场比赛日，他们将前往瓦伦西亚，面对新升官的莱万特，这支球队将在本赛季的第一场主场比赛中经受烈火的洗礼。尽管在半场结束时对手只剩下9人，但巴萨还是以3-0大胜马洛卡，拉开了他们新赛季的序幕。尽管如此，加泰罗尼亚人仍然控制着比赛的方方面面，拉明·亚马尔再一次表现出色——他的天赋、最后的进球和锋线使他成为去年西甲联赛的最佳助攻者。现在，弗里克欢迎他的世界级前锋罗伯特·莱万多夫斯基回来。这位37岁的球员刚刚从伤病中恢复过来，可能不会首发，但可能会坐在替补席上。上赛季，他打进了27个联赛进球，仍然是欧洲最致命的终结者之一。他将得到新签下的拉什福德、拉斐尔、奥尔莫以及德容、佩德里和加维组成的中场三人组的支持，这无疑是西班牙最具深度的阵容。朱利安·卡莱罗的莱万特在赛季初以2-1不敌阿拉维斯。虽然青蛙队打得很激烈，但班级里的差距很明显。他们之前与巴塞罗那的45场比赛中只赢了6场，自2019年以来就没有赢过。更糟糕的是，他们在最近三次与卫冕冠军的交锋中都丢了三个球。莱万特可能依赖于能量和主场球迷的支持，但他们的防守结构不太可能遏制冠军的一波又一波的进攻。巴萨上赛季场均近3个进球，而且没有任何放缓的迹象，这可能会变得很糟糕。