Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has received numerous plaudits for leading the Catalan giants to the top of the table, most notably defeating Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Beyond the results, the style has astounded spectators all over the world, with a high line that continues to take attackers off guard.
Flick has urged his players to be bold with their pressure and defensive line, and they have caught opponents offside more than twice as many times as any other team, earning 77 free kicks as a result. Many speculated that Flick would change his tactics during El Clasico to deal with the pace of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. If anything, it was the reverse.
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According to MD, Flick made the offside line one of the primary points of his half-time team talk. The German coach instructed his team to follow virtually the same game plan and maintain their high line. “Anyone who drops back a meter, I’ll substitute them,” he told his team.
The only change he made, which was equally praised, was to replace Fermin Lopez with Frenkie de Jong at halftime. The objective was to have more control. Fermin’s addition was originally intended to put as much pressure on Real Madrid as possible, but with the Dutchman deeper and Pedri further forward, Barcelona were able to better manage the game and monopolise ball possession, as Flick desired.
In contrast to their match against Bayern Munich, in which the Bavarians controlled 60% of the ball, Barcelona enjoyed 59% possession in El Clasico. Undoubtedly, the Blaugrana looked more solid and like they were playing the game they wanted in the second period. Los Blancos performed slightly better.
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