The 'all-terrain' player of Barça: how Pedri made his mark in the match against Benfica

Pedri González is experiencing what is arguably the best moment of his sporting career. The star of FC Barcelona has made an exponential qualitative leap since he came under the orders of Julio Tous, the current head of the club's physical preparation, at the end of last season. The midfielder has not only left his physical problems behind but has also achieved a physical condition that allows him to make a brutal impact in all areas of the game.

The blue-and-burgundy '8' puts on a show every match, and last Tuesday against Benfica in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 was no exception. The Catalan team secured their ticket to the next round after overpowering the Lisbon team (3-1), in a match where the Canary Islander was named MVP for the second consecutive match despite Lamine Yamal scoring a goal and providing an assist, and Raphinha celebrating a brace.

And indeed, the player from Tegueste was once again the conductor of the Barça, and in addition to offering a technical recital, he did not spare any effort in doing the 'dirty work' to help the team. In fact, the Tenerife native was the player who covered the most kilometers in the entire match (13.6), even surpassing his mark in Lisbon, where he completed 13.2 km. In total, Pedri has accumulated a total of 114.7 kilometers covered in the 10 matches he has played in the Champions League, being the leader of the squad in this category. A true madness.

Pedri controlled the strings of Barça

To top it off, in the clash against Benfica, González was the player who created the most chances (3), won the most tackles (5), recovered the most balls alongside Dani Olmo (10), and completed the most passes in the final third (6). This performance lifted the fans present at Montjuïc from their seats, giving a well-deserved ovation to the '8' after making a significant effort to recover the ball in defense.

Pedri is on track to surpass his best records as a Barça player. The Canary Islander has scored 5 goals this season, just two shy of his record of 7 from the 2022-23 season. Additionally, in the 41 matches he has played so far, he has accumulated 6 assists, his highest in a single season as a Barça player. So far in the 24/25 season, he has only missed one match due to a flu virus (against Valencia) and has already surpassed the 3,000 minutes played mark (3,202).

At just 21 years old, the player has proven to be a complete midfielder, and although his market value is 100 million euros, the absolute reality is that González is priceless. The best news for Barça: his renewal until 2030, securing him with a clause of one billion euros. The future of the club rests in the feet of the Tenerife star.