The symptoms that Barça urgently needs to cure

BarcelonaOctober has just begun, Real Madrid are just two points ahead in the La Liga standings, and a rather favorable Champions League schedule will give Barça several opportunities to regain their place in the top spots. However, the impression Hansi Flick's team has left this past week, two painful defeats against PSG (1-2) and Sevilla (4-1), do not correspond to the brilliant trajectory he exhibited last season, in which only a poor run – more focused on a lack of success than on his play – between November and December sowed any doubts.

At this point in the season, and after Flick warned about the dangers of egos in a football dressing room following a 1-1 draw in Vallecas, the Barça coach is now focusing on the glass-half-full narrative. Unlike Pedri González and Pau Cubarsí, both very self-critical of the team's performance in strictly footballing terms, he urged the team to take the defeat in Seville "positively," while applauding the players' second-half reaction at the Pizjuán stadium and dismissing the poor result as a "problem."

A trap in low hours

"You can't play in the Champions League with such a high line; sometimes coaches are too stubborn," retorted CBS commentator Thierry Henry after the defeat to PSG. "It's one thing to push the line forward, but it's another to be suicidal," analyzed former Barça player Gerard López in the aftermath of the defeat in Seville. The offside trap continues to wreak havoc on opponents—the home side's attackers fell foul of it 10 times at the Pizjuán stadium—but at the same time, it poses a danger to Barça if they don't threaten the passer and the defensive line isn't sufficiently coordinated. If the pressure in the opponent's half isn't tight and accurate, boldness becomes a boon for opponents who, in Flick's second season, have learned to time it better when serving balls behind the center-backs. Sevilla scored two identical goals: 2-1 and 4-1.

Pressing should be used to deny the opponent time to create plays. In this sense, in Seville, Barça attacked much less without the ball. They pressed only 63 times, which is a negative record since Flick's arrival (the current average in La Liga is 140). The absence of powerful players like Raphinha, Fermín, and Gavi contribute to this figure, as does the loss of intimidation (against Sevilla, Lamine Yamal was also absent). The experiment of playing Rashford on the right and Ferran on the left didn't work and lasted just over 20 minutes. On his natural leg, the Englishman is lost.

Regarding the second condition—coordination of the defensive line—the team misses the stability that Iñigo Martínez conveyed. The experienced Basque center-back, with whom Flick maintained a great relationship and understanding, knew when to step forward or back depending on how the team pressed and how the opponent attacked. There is an example from last year that is very clear: In the 4-1 rout of Bayern Munich, the Bavarians were the better side for the first 25 minutes, but their defense dropped back a metre—without sinking—and the team improved substantially. The unbalanced pressing against PSG also proved fatal.

To translate these decisions from the bench to the field, Iñigo was a key player. Eric has inherited some of the Basque's stripes, but he's neither left-footed nor as forceful. In any case, the Martorell native seems the most reliable partner for Cubarsí. He's more powerful than Christensen, whom Deco wanted to sell just a few weeks ago, and much more so than Araujo, who is by far the defender who interprets Flick's commands the worst.

Two closely watched and tired midfielders

The Uruguayan's problems in getting the ball out of the box emerge precisely when the midfield duo can't express themselves comfortably, something both PSG and Sevilla achieved with two man-marking positions. With Pedri and De Jong exclusively guarding, Araujo must come out of the box to build play, a skill he doesn't master, and the goalkeeper—in these cases Szczęsny—often has to look for direct play. Against Sevilla, moreover, the right-wing play with the Araujo-Kounde pairing was unproductive.

Pedri's isolation is a great asset for opponents. In fact, the only three games in which the Canary Islander has dropped below 100 saves are the only three Barça haven't won this season (Rayo, PSG, and Sevilla). De Jong also made fewer saves. Although Flick made some adjustments after the break—such as bringing on Balde and Eric—and the team gained possession, neither the Canary Islander nor the Dutchman were comfortable. And the tactical difficulties—"the structure needs improvement," in Flick's own words—translate into greater physical strain on the team and Pedri.

The Tenerife native is the only player who has always started and played over 95% of the minutes. De Jong, who is about to renew his contract, His level also drops significantly in situations where opponents press heavily due to his difficulty receiving the ball with his back to goal and creating an advantage to continue plays. In these circumstances, Dani Olmo hasn't helped his teammates at the back, instead losing his way between the lines and missing the few chances he has had. Barça has had a poor week, but they were already thrashed early last season, for example at Osasuna. Flick will continue the international break to make tactical adjustments.