"Barcelona's season has hit a critical rough patch following two consecutive demoralising defeats within the span of just five days. Hansi Flick's side suffered a heavy 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, followed closely by a painful 2-1 defeat against Michel's Girona in La Liga. Beyond the serious refereeing errors that marred the Girona clash, these setbacks have glaringly exposed the team's lack of a reliable defensive system, particularly concerning their vulnerable high line."
"Across 38 official matches this season, Flick has deployed an astonishing 16 different defensive formations. Interestingly, he has used the exact same formation 11 times without ever repeating it consecutively. Amidst this heavy rotation, the combination of Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia, and Alejandro Balde has emerged as the most frequently used backline. This specific quartet has started together 12 times across all competitions."
"This immense defensive instability has forced Flick into several positional sacrifices, utilising four different right-backs throughout the campaign. Kounde and Garcia have been the most frequent options on the right flank, while Marc Casado and Joao Cancelo have also been called upon occasionally. Consequently, natural centre-backs like Garcia have been entirely repurposed as midfielders and full-backs, while Cancelo has even been forced to deputise at left-back to cover the structural gaps."
Barcelona suffered a 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final loss to Atletico Madrid and a 2-1 La Liga defeat to Girona within five days. Serious refereeing errors affected the Girona match, but the results exposed a lack of a reliable defensive system and a vulnerable high line. Hansi Flick has tried numerous tactical and technical tweaks, deploying 16 different defensive formations across 38 matches and never repeating a formation consecutively despite using one 11 times. The most-used backline of Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia and Alejandro Balde has started 12 times, while Cubarsi and Gerard Martin remain the preferred centre-back pairing. Rotational pressure forced four different right-backs and repurposed centre-backs into midfield and full-back roles, with Joao Cancelo deputising at left-back.
Read at Barca Universal
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]