Barcelona manager Hansi Flick explained the reasons for his team’s recent slump as Barça look to bounce back from two tough losses against Atlético Madrid and Girona.
The Blaugrana have a chance to respond against relegation candidates Levante at home on Sunday, and Flick explained what needs to be corrected in order to start playing well and winning again. The biggest issues according to the coach are easy losses of possession and bad transition defense, which hurts the team’s attacking rhythm and leaves
them too open at the back.
Hansi also wants to see players take individual responsibility and assume bigger leadership roles on the pitch, but the coach had an overall positive outlook and is optimistic that his team can get back to their best soon.
“There are many aspects to address, and they keep changing. We lose possession too often, we struggle to cover the spaces during transitions, to defend well at the back… If we lose too many balls and aren’t well positioned, we leave gaps. These are just a few points, but there’s more. We also haven’t reacted well after losing possession and haven’t taken advantage of the spaces.
“I’m very focused. After these two days off, we’ve had time to reflect, and it’s a good opportunity to see how the team is doing and how it has improved. When something like this happens, we lose confidence, but it’s time to pick ourselves up and keep improving. Tomorrow won’t be easy, and we hope to transition well. It’s a home game, and it’s a good time to turn things around.
“This is normal. If I think about Girona, the first 15-20 minutes went well, but then we lost our rhythm and although we had chances, we didn’t take them. We could see that we weren’t playing with the dynamism we should have. We need leaders, and that’s what we’ve talked about. It’s important to feel and take responsibility for our objectives. When the players give 100%, the quality is tremendous, and sometimes there aren’t clear leaders, but that’s part of our job too, and I have faith in my team. I’m eager. We’ve turned the page, and we have to improve. The positive thing is that Pedri and Rashford are back, and Gavi is progressing little by little.”
Flick is absolutely spot-on with his analysis of what’s wrong. Because the vast majority of us only understand football at the surface level, it’s easy to get caught up on the opinions of the “experts” on TV who parrot the same message about the high line without offering any real insight, but Flick’s detailed answer explains the actual root of the problems.
Barça have quite simply struggled to keep the ball lately, and have been caught out of position way too often because they are not used to losing possession so easily. That has a domino effect that impacts the entire structure, and that’s why the defense feels more vulnerable than it actually should be even in the context of a high-risk system such as the one Flick employs.
Pedri’s return is absolutely crucial to help regain some of the control and poise on the ball that has been missing in the last couple of weeks, and the forwards need to start pressing well again. Flick’s system only works if all eleven players are willing to work together at all times, and that was the key to their success last season and their great recent run of form in December and January.
