"The 4-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Thursday night has seemingly opened up a can of worms at FC Barcelona. The heavy loss at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano leaves the Blaugrana with a huge challenge ahead of the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final tie on 3 March. As reported previously, the performance and the result raised some concerns for manager Hansi Flick, who was far from pleased with the attitude and intensity of his players in the first period."
"Now, according to The Athletic, after hearing what Flick had to say before training on Friday, the Barcelona players chose to speak up about some of their concerns with tactics. The squad felt that sticking to the manager's usual tactics - intense pressing and high defensive line - was not ideal at the Metropolitano as they felt the conditions were not right for it."
"The players felt it was the right time to voice their concerns, considering that this was not the first time that the team had found itself in such a situation - the Club Brugge game, where they were able to salvage a 3-3 draw, the Sevilla clash, which they lost 4-1, being other instances. Moreover, a number of players in the squad felt that the loss to Atletico Madrid highlighted how hard it was"
Barcelona suffered a 4-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid that left the team facing a difficult second-leg Copa del Rey tie on 3 March. Players expressed dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of the usual tactics—intense pressing and a high defensive line—under the match conditions at the Metropolitano. Squad members felt the approach was hard to execute without Raphinha and Pedri. Several players cited similar earlier problems in the Club Brugge draw and the 4-1 Sevilla defeat. The group asked Hansi Flick to adopt a more pragmatic, adaptable tactical plan for big games while retaining core principles.
Read at Barca Universal
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