Hansi Flick’s arrival at FC Barcelona brought a lot of changes in the way the team played the game on the pitch. These changes proved to be quite effective as the Catalans got very good results in the first phase of the season.
One of the most obvious of these changes was the way the team approached its defense, and the offside trap was one of the most distinct characteristics of Hansi Flick’s Barcelona team, which allowed them to take full advantage of their high defensive line without giving up too many goals.
However, as Mundo Deportivo has noted, the Blaugranes’ opponents now seem to have found their solution to this tactic as the offside trap has not been as effective in the last few games, and the match against Real Betis was the first time that Barcelona’s opponents were not flagged for offside even once.
The usage of the offside trap reached its apogee in the game against Real Madrid, as the Merengues were flagged a record 12 times in that match. Similarly, Espanyol were also whistled for offside 11 times, while other opponents like Valencia (7 offsides), Athletic Club (5), Rayo Vallecano (4), Real Valladolid (4), Girona (7), Villarreal (7), Getafe (7), and Osasuna (10), also suffered a lot from this tactic.
However, in the last few games against Real Sociedad (3), Celta Vigo (2), Las Palmas (5), and Real Betis (0), the offside trap has not provided as good returns, and these matches have also been the ones in which Barcelona have dropped points. Only against Mallorca (11) were the Blaugranes able to use this tactic effectively in recent weeks.
In total, Barcelona’s opponents have been flagged for offside 107 times in the 17 league games up to now. Similarly, 13 goals have been disallowed against Barcelona due to offside. Thus, recovering the effectiveness of this approach can once again help the Catalans to get good results, but there is no doubt that it will require a lot of work and communication between the players.
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