Opponents have learned how to punish Barcelona’s high line, but system can be protected — Analysis

There’s a conviction inside this FC Barcelona workforce that borders on stubbornness, and that isn’t essentially a criticism. Hansi Flick speaks about construction. The gamers discuss connection, and the thought is repeated with calm certainty, to remain compact, defend excessive, and press as one. The road is non-negotiable.

When Pau Cubarsi lately addressed questions in regards to the dangers of taking part in with such an aggressive line of defense, he didn’t flinch. Sure, it’s demanding, and everybody should stay switched on, however when the workforce is totally engaged, particularly within the massive video games, the system works. The assumption is collective. And perception, in soccer, is highly effective.

But numbers don’t deal in perception. In keeping with Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have conceded 46 targets this season throughout competitions, however that determine alone doesn’t inform the complete story.

The extra revealing element lies in how these targets arrive. A hanging share, almost half, observe a well-known sample: a ball performed into the area behind the defence, a ahead sprinting by means of, and sometimes a second runner arriving from deep to complete.

This isn’t a coincidence. Final season, opponents launching the ball excessive have been often trying to find a transparent goal. If the striker didn’t management it cleanly, the transfer light. Now the calculation is totally different.

Groups have realised they don’t want a exact receiver. They solely must drop the ball into the hall between full-back and centre-back. Somebody will arrive, and somebody all the time does. That’s the painful evolution.

The excessive line has not modified dramatically. What has modified is the best way rivals assault it. As a substitute of threading delicate passes into marked forwards, they’re now treating Barcelona’s defensive area as a race monitor. The primary contact issues lower than the momentum, and if the primary runner misses it, the second collects it. And when that second runner occurs to be somebody like Mbappe, Lookman, or Guedes, the punishment is fast.

To be clear, this doesn’t imply the system is damaged, as Barcelona’s aggressive line is the rationale Lamine Yamal and Raphinha can press with freedom. It compresses the sector. It permits Frenkie de Jong and Pedri to dictate tempo in superior zones. It provides the workforce territorial dominance. Flick’s Barcelona 2.0 is extra managed than the chaotic, all-action model of final season. There may be much less rock and roll, extra rhythm.

However management with out anticipation invitations hazard. The actual vulnerability isn’t the area itself; it’s the second earlier than the cross. Too usually, the opposition’s distributor lifts his head unchallenged. A excessive line can survive if the passer is hurried. It collapses when he isn’t. The issue begins 40 metres from the purpose, not 5.

That’s the place the subsequent tactical evolution should occur. Barcelona don’t must abandon their id. Dropping deeper would undermine the urgent philosophy that defines Flick’s strategy. As a substitute, they need to refine it. Tighter strain on the ball provider, higher timing in stepping up, and sharper communication when runners emerge from deep.

As a result of opponents will proceed to check that area. They’ve studied it. They perceive that fashionable attackers thrive on open grass. The query is whether or not Barcelona will anticipate the adjustment as shortly as their rivals found it.

There isn’t a scandal right here or disaster, however relatively a chess match unfolding at an elite stage. If the excessive line is an act of religion, then bettering its safety is an act of intelligence. Barcelona have chosen braveness. Now they need to select precision.

And maybe that’s the actual secret behind these conceded targets: not that the system is flawed, however that in fashionable soccer, each daring concept calls for an equally daring correction.