Athletic Club 0–3 Barcelona: Takeaways From Barcelona's Last Win of 2024–25, What Comes Next | OneFootball

Barcelona dominated Athletic Club and won 3–0 in the last La Liga game of the season to sign off on what's been an amazing 2024–25 for the Catalans.

It was all smiles and celebrations for Barça from the jump. With Robert Lewandowski securing a quick brace in the opening 20 minutes, Barcelona were able to control the game and enjoy the final minutes of a campaign that will be remembered as the one when the club made their long-awaited return to prominence.

Dani Olmo made it 3–0 with the final kick of the ball in Barcelona's season, sending the team into the summer break on a high and with plenty of optimism of even greater things to come in 2025–26.

Barça bid farewell to one of the best sides the club's seen in recent memory. One that has all the ingredients to dominate in the foreseeable future, but that still must address a few areas before the starting whistle blows on next season.

Here are three takeaways from the last game of Hansi Flick's debut season as Barcelona manager.

Lewandowski Makes a Statement

There's been plenty of talk about Barcelona needing a new striker for the 2025–26 season, someone that can ease the attacking burden on Lamine Yamal and Raphinha and also be an alternative for Lewandowski ahead of his age 37 season.

The Polish striker came into the final game of the season in the midst of a six-game scoring drought that dated back to Apr. 9. The drop in form plus a hamstring injury that forced him to miss crucial games defined Lewandowski's final months of the campaign. This situation reinforced the feeling that no matter how productive he was for much of the season, Barcelona must find another center forward.

However, in the final match of the campaign, Lewandowski needed less than 20 minutes to secure a brace, showing how his movement, positioning and finishing ability are still world class. It was a statement performance that led the Catalans to one final victory before the summer break.

Sure, Barcelona still might decide to look for another striker in transfer market, but make no mistake, Lewandowski will return next season as the prime candidate to lead the line like he's done since his arrival to the club in 2022.

The Dilemma Between the Sticks

Iñaki Peña was in goal for Barcelona's final game of the season, the academy graduate's first appearance since losing the starting job to Wojciech Szczęsny in January.

Club captain Marc-André ter Stegen's ACL injury a month into the season was a heavy blow and Barcelona ended up utilizing three different starting goalkeepers throughout the campaign. Peña did fine but didn't inspire enough confidence for Flick to stick with him as a starter. Szczęsny did a good job after coming out of retirement, but his future with the club remains uncertain and it's unlikely he keeps the starting role next season.

Ter Stegen is the favorite to regain the starting job after fully recovered from his injury. He made a couple of appearances in recent weeks. However, the German wasn't at his best before the injury and didn't inspire much confidence when he featured.

Reports have surfaced that Barcelona could be looking for an upgrade in goal for next season, with Espanyol's Joan García emerging as the main candidate. After a season of uncertainty between the sticks, it's anyone's guess who'll start in goal when Barça take the pitch for their first game.

La Masia Remains the Heart of Flick's Barcelona

Seven players that spent time in Barcelona's storied academy started the game vs. Athletic Club and three others featured from the bench, something that's happened regularly all season.

The reliance on homegrown talents has been a constant ever since Flick took over as manager, trusting young La Masia players to make up the bulk of Barça's lineups all season. The return to the club's DNA has led to Barcelona not only finding a new crop of emerging talent, but also field a team that feels the colors of the shirt like the great Barça teams of old.

The fighting spirit, pride and mental strength of this core defines Flick's Barcelona. These young players are only going to get better and more will come. Marc Bernal, for example, captained the La Masia side of Yamal and Pau Cubarsí's age group and will rejoin the first team next season after recovering from a torn ACL.

Key players recruited from outside La Masia have blended perfectly with this core and some, like Raphinha and Iñigo Martínez have already signed contract extensions.

Barcelona are expected to challenge for everything in 2025–26 and they'll do so with the same formula of great sides in club history: La Masia talents at the center of it all.