Everyone’s Pointing Fingers at Barcelona’s High Line — Here’s What They’re Missing!

The 4–1 humiliation at Sevilla has uncovered the cruel fact — Barcelona is in disaster. The group seems misplaced, the concepts stale, and except drastic adjustments come quickly, even time — their solely ally left — will flip in opposition to them.

It’s all too straightforward to pin the blame on Lewandowski for the missed penalty, or on the forwards who squandered golden possibilities to equalize. Nobody would fault anybody for doing so — particularly when a possible 2–2 draw spiraled right into a crushing 4–1 defeat.

Obsessing over these minor particulars has change into second nature for everybody related to Barcelona — and for anybody who talks in regards to the membership. Now, the newest villain is the excessive line, as if Pep’s golden-era Barcelona by no means used one. If the aim is simply to discover a scapegoat and dump all of the blame there, we received’t transfer an inch ahead. The excessive line has labored brilliantly previously, and there’s no cause it may possibly’t work now — although, truthful sufficient, possibly it doesn’t must be this excessive.

Opposition’s Compact Midfield Is a Nightmare

As soon as once more, the opposition’s compact midfield proved to be a nightmare for Barcelona. It repeatedly left the group cut up in half throughout transitions. The excessive line appeared shaky but once more, answerable for a number of of the targets conceded — however pinning all of it on that might be an oversimplification. What we’re seeing is merely the symptom of a deeper, structural downside.

In soccer, each tactical strategy comes with its personal set of dangers — similar to in life. The actual artwork lies in fine-tuning a technique that delivers extra benefits than drawbacks. Take the excessive line, for instance. When it collapses in opposition to sturdy groups, the same old outcry is to change to a deeper, extra conventional protection. However does sitting deep assure success? By no means — it brings its personal points.

The secret’s to maximise your strengths, and that’s exactly what the excessive line as soon as did for us. When paired with tiki-taka and fluid positional play, it minimized its weaknesses. We weren’t simply uncovered — we had mechanisms to recuperate each time we have been.

In my earlier article, The Hansi Flick Fantasy: Why Late Collapses Are Only a Symptom, I defined why the 4-2-3-1 formation is a much bigger offender than the excessive line itself. But, the narrative nonetheless fixates on the latter, ignoring the actual problem. Even when we drop deeper, we’ll solely get uncovered in several methods — and our attacking risk will fade additional.

Proper now, regardless of all of the possession, Barcelona lacks true management. Even once we appear in cost, it feels fragile — like we’re about to lose it any second. What we’ve is an phantasm of management, not the actual factor. Until that’s mounted, nothing else will fall into place. Hansi Flick stands at a vital crossroads — act now, or lose what little management stays.