Barcelona boss Hansi Flick hoping to address key area of concern ahead of El Clasico – Reports
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick is reportedly keen to address a weakness he perceived in his team’s defensive structure. This comes ahead of their El Clasico match against arch-rivals Real Madrid in LaLiga at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday (October 26). Flick believes leaving the issue unfixed could give Los Blancos an upper hand over his side in the clash.
Barcelona secured an emphatic 4-1 victory over Bundesliga side Bayern Munich at home in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, October 23. They will be poised to build on that victory going into their 11th La Liga game of the 2024-25 campaign against Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
Prior to tomorrow’s clash, both sides had already met in the preseason, with Barcelona claiming a 2-1 victory. While Barca are on an impressive run of form, Hansi Flick has spotted a flaw in his team's defense, which could put them at a disadvantage against Los Blancos.
According to Spanish outlet Sport, Hansi Flick is wary about the Achilles heel he spotted behind the fullbacks in their Champions League match with Bayern. He is hoping to address the issue before the game against Real Madrid tomorrow.
Since taking over the managerial reins, Flick has implemented a high-pressing style, which requires his defense to move high up the pitch. While this tactic has worked so far in LaLiga, their match with Bayern proved that the tactic could prove costly against top teams with pacy forwards.
The Bavarians took advantage of the space left behind by the defense when they had the opportunity and did some damage. Deploying the same tactic against Real Madrid, who have pacy forwards in Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe, could prove costly.
As per the abovementioned source, Flick is worried about the spaces left behind his fullbacks Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde against Bayern. While Kounde is currently enjoying the form of his life under Flick, he can’t afford to sleep on Vinicius’ lethalness in front of goal.
After the match on Wednesday, Harry Kane revealed that Barcelona’s aggressive pressing gave Bayern opportunities, but they failed to capitalize, as per Diario AS. With Kane also exposing the defensive frailties, it could really mean that Flick has some adjustments to make to his team's defense
What Hansi Flick said about his offside trap ahead of Barcelona’s clash with Real Madrid
Ahead of the El Clasico, Hansi Flick spoke about the offside trap he has implemented this season. In the pre-match conference, the Barcelona boss said they aim to continue to implement the offside trap in their subsequent matches. He said (via Barca Centre);
"Catching a lot of opposing forwards offside? We have many coaches who study this. This is our philosophy. We want to press, press the ball, the ball holder. We must be close, play compactly. When there is too much space between lines, we don't do well. We were good in this regard in the second half against Bayern."
Barca currently sit at the top of the La Liga table with 27 points after 10 games, three points above Real Madrid.