It hasn’t even been two whole days since FC Barcelona got past Bayern Munich in tremendous fashion and they are already moving to their next game – El Clasico. The clash against Real Madrid is on the horizon, and it isn’t going to be easy.
There were so many positive things for Barcelona from the game against Bayern Munich. Raphinha, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Marc Casado, and Jules Kounde all had stupendous displays and were key cogs to Hansi Flick’s plan on the night.
However, the one thing that has garnered the most attention since is how successfully Barcelona held the high-line defense against Bayern. Often, the Catalan club used the halfway line as their reference and caught Bayern offside repeatedly.
Understandably, ahead of the Clasico, Flick was quizzed about the team’s commitment to the high-press philosophy, and here is what the German coach had to say. As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, here is what he had to say:
“We have many coaches who are paying attention to this, but it is our philosophy to press as much as possible with and without the ball. We need to get closer to being a compact unit and not leave spaces between lines.”
“What we’ve done is great, especially in the second half against Bayern. It’s not easy to train, and we will have to adapt and balance the loads so that the training sessions aren’t too intense. The players are doing wonderfully, and they have adapted and are adjusting to the match.”
“I believe in the team, and we have many qualities, and that’s what we want to see. Everyone is playing at their best and supporting each other. When we are united, it is our greatest strength.”
As good as Barcelona were against Bayern holding the high line, this isn’t a one-time occurrence. Hansi Flick has set his team up in a similar manner in every single game so far this campaign and the fact that it succeeded against a top team like Bayern has caught everyone’s attention.
With Real Madrid up next, the high line is bound to get tested even more. Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping to unleash pacy forwards like Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior who can beat Barcelona’s offside trap to perfection. However, as Flick says, Barcelona will have to commit to their philosophy.
Ultimately, it’s quite simple: the less space opponents have to play through, the more effective Barcelona’s press can be. Only time will tell how this tactic plays out against Real Madrid, but let’s wait and see.
