pallab_pratim_

This is how Hansi Flick's Barcelona defends:

Understanding Barca's high-line and Flick's off the ball tactics.

[A Thread]

The 1st thing to observe about this new Barcelona is their stupendously high defensive line that Flick has imposed in every game so far.

And his persistence to resort to Offside traps as the primary way to defend opponent attacks.

This way of defending is Highly Risk taking,

But if imposed and enacted perfectly—the rewards can be/has been *even more* highly rewarding.

As the high line doesn’t just serve as a defensive tool—it becomes a platform for launching instant attacks.

Barcelona has been the most elusive team on counterattacks in LaLiga this season.

The key to its effectiveness lies in Flick’s off-the-ball strategy:
—The 1st wave of press from the attackers
—The structure of the Midfield
—The High Defensive Line

1. The 1st wave of press:

The key roles here are being played by the wingers. As when the opp GK has the ball,
—Lamine and Raphinha block the passing lanes to their CBs
—Lewa and the Adv. Midfielder(Olmo)blocks the DMs.

Thus forcing the keeper to go long to his Fullbacks or CF. 

2. The midfield structure:
As the Adv. Midfielder pushes high, the other two remain extremely close to the back line.

Once the long ball reaches the CF,
The close positioning of the midfielders and the backline ensures security in winning *if not* the 1st ball then the 2nd ball. 

3.The Defensive line:

Now if the FB has the ball—one of the two sitting midfielders come out to cover his passing options.

The high line becomes a pure lure for him as the huge space in behind the defence acts an entice for the opp to go long.

Thus, the Trap comes into action. 

The defenders move away from their goal (An un-orthodox movement) until the last millisecond of when the opp launches the ball.

As that movement being so un-orthodox, the opp CF gets caught off in an offside far more frequently and in much more unprecedented ways.

But once Barca's first line of press is beaten and the opp is able to build and progress from the back.

Defending the opps progression through the channels becomes crucial in this scenario.

To deal with it, Flick's plan changes as Barca becomes Vertically extreme Compact.

Being Vertically compact—means completely blocking off passing lanes from the opps through the middle.

Hence, The Blocked passing lanes through the middle and the high defensive line again lures the opp CBs to go long.

Thus, The Offside-trap again comes into action. 

All of these—high line, offside trap, compact shape and urgency to win 1st ball and 2nd ball means that
Flick wants to launch attacks directly without giving the opponent any time to settle.

Thus, the reason why Barca have scored 47 goals in 14 games—the pinnacle of Europe