Why doesn't Flick's Barça run like it used to?

Barcelona"Now is when they really need to withstand the surge. If they can't hold on now, the season will be over." That's how emphatic his prediction is for the ARA. after Sunday's derby (2-1), A voice very close to the Barça dressing room. Like many Barça fans, this person sees that Hansi Flick's team It has lost some of the attributes that made it soar just a few months ago. Nevertheless, he sees a glimmer of hope and proposes a two-part recovery plan. The first, as indicated in the quote that opens this text, involves navigating this difficult period with minimal impact on results. The second, which requires more time, depends on rediscovering the team's strengths through quality training sessions that will also help stem the tide of injuries plaguing every member of the Barça coaching staff. Far from being a turning point, Barça's performance at the Bernabéu confirmed the negative signs displayed against Sevilla, Girona, and Olympiacos. Instead of replicating the boldness that led to their crushing victory over Real Madrid in all four Clásicos last season, Flick's men took few risks in attack to avoid counter-attacks. Instead of bringing Lamine Yamal on in the opening minutes, when he was least likely to be affected by his groin injury, the team prioritized safe passes to minimize turnovers. Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres also failed to offer many solutions in space. Flick's tactics not only failed to subdue Real Madrid, but they also lost steam as time went on and Xabi Alonso's men began to expose their superiority. downgrade Barça's weakness at the start of the season: pressure.

From the 15th minute onwards, Barça's voracious appetite for winning the ball in the opposition's half, one of their strengths, faded. Consequently, Madrid capitalized on poorly occupied spaces and wasted effort, such as Rashford's before Kylian Mbappé's opening goal, who received the ball in space from Jude Bellingham, who was only marked by his compatriot. During this period of the match, Real Madrid tore Barça apart with ease. De Jong and Pedri, isolated in no-man's land, ran tirelessly to cover, to no avail, the gaps created by the forwards' lack of pressure. Even so, the Canary Islander (Pedri) stole the ball that led to Fermín's equalizer, making it 1-1. With 37 successful presses, he was by far Barça's best defender. But in the end, tired and desperate in search of an equalizer that his team had within their grasp during a poor second half for Real Madrid, he ended up being sent off.

Solutions needed to restore tone

The Barça coaching staff has taken note of the third defeat in five matches and is focusing on physical conditioning so they can rediscover their daring on the ball and their hunger for victory off it. Beyond the medical and off-field problems of Lamine Yamal, the team's best individual player, Flick is concerned that his players cannot apply the same intensity as last season, which resulted in three national titles and a Champions League semi-final lost in extra time (4-3). After the thrashing in Seville (4-1), the German coach asked the physical trainers and rehabilitation specialists for solutions. They acknowledged that improvements were needed and also pointed out the limitations of working under the current conditions during an Asian tour marked by heat, humidity, long internal journeys, and dressing room tensions. In more detail, some voices in Sant Joan Despí are observing that if Barça has stopped running as they used to, it's because...staff The formula for balancing the physical impact of the grueling end of last season with the need to replenish the players' fitness at the start of this campaign has yet to be found. Unlike the summer of 2024, when maximum physical demands were imposed during preseason following Flick's arrival, the training loads ordered in the summer of 2025 have not been the same. The strength training sessions led by specialist Julio Tous, which a year ago even caused some dizziness due to overexertion among the squad, have been less intense. Exercises with resistance bands and Swiss balls have become more prevalent in the weight training routines. However, this strategy has neither helped to reconcile the effects of last season's exertion with the demands of the current campaign, nor has it prevented injuries and setbacks like Raphinha's, whose absence in attack is comparable to that of Iñigo Martínez in defense.