FC Barcelona remain committed to making things difficult for their opponents by any means necessary. Traditionally, the Catalan giants have achieved this objective by relying on their strength in possession. This season, however, there have been some drastic changes at Barcelona.
With Hansi Flick in charge now, La Blaugrana have had to adapt to a relatively new style of play. This particular style is now focused a lot more on verticality and speed of play in order to overwhelm and devastate their opponents, no matter who they are.
Beyond just the high-line tactic that Flick has managed to put into play so effectively, there is also another new element attached to Barça’s style of play that has not been too relevant for the team over the last couple of years. That particular tactic would be none other than being effective from range.
As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are statistically the most dangerous team across Europe’s top five leagues when it comes to scoring and striking from outside the box. This season, they have already managed to score nine times through this method.
Coupled with their verticality and directness, this new weapon often allows Barcelona to catch their opponents off-guard and strike at their goals from distance. Across this season so far, the Catalan giants have tried to do this on 106 occasions, and second-place Manchester City have tried 93 shots from distance.
Interestingly, Flick’s Barcelona have already scored nine goals from outside the box and that they are still just close to the half-way mark of this ongoing campaign. To highlight the significance of this change, Xavi’s Barça last season would be the perfect example.
Under the previous coach, during the 2023-2024 season, Barcelona managed to score eight goals throughout the season. Now, in 19 fewer games in the league, Flick’s team has managed to score one more goal than the tally from the entirety of the previous season.
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Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo with Hansi Flick.
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 30: Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea looks on during the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Newcastle United and Chelsea at St James' Park on October 30, 2024 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
BARCELONA, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 30: Frenkie de Jong of FC Barcelona looks on as he warms up prior to the LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and UD Las Palmas at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on November 30, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.
Both Lamine Yamal and Pablo Torre have contributed massively to this statistic. With two goals each in La Liga from outside the box, they are the leaders for the team in this particular way of scoring. Yamal is also the Barcelona player who has attempted the most long shots this season with 30 to his name, and he is followed by his partners in attack Raphinha (28 shots) and Robert Lewandowski (13 shots) in this regard.