Hansi Flick’s arrival at FC Barcelona has changed a lot of things at the Blaugrana club, but these changes are most obvious on the pitch, where Flick has implanted a significantly different style of play than that of his predecessor, Xavi Hernandez.
In defense, one of the most notable aspects of Flick’s style of play has been the high emphasis on the offside trap, something that paid very high dividends for the Catalans in the initial phase of the season.
The usage of this defensive tactic by Barcelona reached its climax in the game against Real Madrid, in which the Merengues were whistled for offside 12 times, with only Kylian Mbappe being whistled for offside 8 times in that game.
However, there is also no doubt that an effective execution of this tactic involves 100% concentration from all the defenders, without any room for mistakes.
But Barcelona’s execution of the offside trap has not been as flawless in the last few weeks, which have also seen the Catalans drop eight points in the last three league games.
SPORT has compared the number of successful offside trap executions by Barcelona in their first 16 games, in which the Blaugranes were widely successful against all of their opponents, and the last 4 games.
In the first 16 matches, the Catalans left their opponents in an offside position on 108 occasions, averaging 6.75 offsides in every game.
On the other hand, in the last four games, this average has dropped to 4 per match, as Barcelona have kept their opponents offside on only 16 occasions in total.
These numbers show a significant decline in the usage and effectiveness of one of the key ingredients to Barcelona’s success early in the season.
Rival teams might have found the solution to this tactic, or the Blaugrana defenders might have not been executing this tactic with as much perfection as they previously did, but whatever the reason, Flick has a problem to fix in the upcoming weeks.
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BARCELONA, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 30: Gerard Martin of FC Barcelona looks dejected after Sandro Ramirez of UD Las Palmas (not pictured) scores his team's first goal during the LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and UD Las Palmas at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on November 30, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.
BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 23: Alphonso Davies of FC Bayern München looks on prior the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD3 match between FC Barcelona and FC Bayern München at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on October 23, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.
BARCELONA, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 03: Hansi Flick, Head Coach of FC Barcelona, gestures during the La Liga EA Sports match between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on November 03, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.