Barcelona Is Falling Into Its Own Offside Trap

"Of all of the top teams in Europe, Barcelona under manager Hansi Flick is the most addicted to the offside trap. The high-risk, high-reward defense has been Flick's trademark as a manager, and Barcelona has, by both design and necessity, adopted it with striking intensity. Flick's mantra is simple: Play a high line, try to catch opponents offside, and if and when it fails, just out-score them on the other end. This, I'd say, broadly worked last season."

"The offside trap is one of the simplest defensive game plans in soccer to describe, and one of the hardest to execute effectively. Its core principles are straightforward: A defensive backline moves up and down the field (mostly up; the offside trap works in unison with that defensive high line) as a unit, baiting opponents into hitting through balls into open space before catching them offside with synchronized stepping up."

Barcelona under Hansi Flick relies heavily on the offside trap, employing a high defensive line that aims to catch opponents offside while outscoring mistakes. That approach helped Barcelona win La Liga with 102 goals and 39 conceded and reach the Champions League semifinals before elimination by Inter Milan in a 7-6 aggregate. The offside trap requires synchronized stepping by the backline to bait through balls and concentrate defending into one collective moment; any lag by a defender yields dangerous counterattacks. This season the trap has faltered: opponents are getting behind the line, isolated defenders face improbable saves, and Barcelona has kept zero clean sheets in the last nine games, its worst defensive run since 2013, including three losses and a draw.

Read at Defector