Did Hansi Flick Get Outmanaged? | OneFootball

Match after match, Hansi Flick has earned the confidence of Culers for his tactical prowess, from the opening whistle to his choices of substitutes. He has taken players that were considered surplus to requirements like Ferran Torres and Eric Garcia and has arguably gotten the best out of them. Flick has been credited with career seasons from Raphinha, Pedri, and Frenkie de Jong. He’s prolonged the careers of Robert Lewandowski and Iñigo Martinez at a high level, and put trust in Fermin Lopez and Gerard Martin to play important roles. Under Hansi Flick, Lamine Yamal has continued to ascend into the stardom that Culers know that he’s capable of.

Flick has so often gotten things right that the notion that he was simply outmanaged is a bit shocking. But that’s exactly what Luis Enrique did as PSG were the far superior, and more telling, cohesive, side in Barcelona’s 2-1 loss on Wednesday night.

Both Teams Pressed Well

To be fair to Hansi Flick, Barcelona was two Dani Olmo makes away from putting PSG is a hole that Luis Enrique may not have been able to save them from. Barça played through the pressure well with Ferran Torres checking to the ball and Lamine Yamal doing well to create vertical space in transition. Pedri and de Jong found the space necessary to play through PSG’s makeshift front three. It all culminated in a trivela (outside of the boot pass) from Lamine Yamal to Torres; a surefire goal if not for Zabarnyi’s heroic block.

Barcelona’s pressure could also be credited with Vitinha’s giveaway in the 19th minute. Lamine Yamal jumped on the ball, Pedri drove into the space, Marcus Rashford played a tremendous pass, and Torres held his run and finished confidently. At that point in the game, PSG looked shaky and Barça looked like they had some answers against the injured French side. Both teams had success in a zonal marking scheme that transitioned quickly into man marking with the pass back to the keeper. Both teams also found some success playing through it due to the otherworldly ball-retention skills of Pedri and Vitinha.

Only One Team Pressed for 90

In the first 30 minutes of the match, neutrals were treated to a high level of football as the two European giants kept their quality while looking to expose any weaknesses. Barça’s high line was succeeding, amplified by individual showings from Gerard Martin and Eric Garcia that the two Catalans should be proud of. Yet, around the 32nd minute or so, almost marked by the yellow in transition to de Jong, Barcelona’s pressure began to show cracks and PSG’s pressure stayed consistently intense.

Unlike Vitinha, Pedri received the “Messi treatment” from Zaïre Emery and Fabian Ruíz. It was death by a thousand little kicks. Never enough for a foul, but enough to bother him and slow him down by the second half. Flick rotated Pedri in the second half, and while obviously the Blaugrana are better with him on the field, he clearly had nothing left to give. This is a compliment to PSG’s relentlessness, not only in the press, but also their use of the entire field.

Where Fitness Mattered

Also to Luis Enrique’s credit, he navigated the mass number of injuries a bit better than Flick did. The switch of Mbaye and Barcola on the wings gave PSG the same personnel but a different tactical look. While it seems counterintuitive to move Barcola away from Gerard Martin, the combination of Barcola and Achraf Hakimi gave Barça’s left side fits and finally found the space to unbalance that backline. While Wojciech Szczęsny does have more experience than Joan Garcia, Barça’s defense needed a keeper to command his box in a way that Tek didn’t do but Joan Garcia has this season.

The wings were always going to be the key in the match, and the lack of fitness for Lamine Yamal shouldn’t be understated. Sure, Flick could be questioned for subbing out Marcus Rashford instead of Ferran Torres, but missing Raphinha was the bigger headline. His relentless running can be unbalancing for a defense in the individual moments, but his loss was really felt over the course of 90 minutes.

What’s Up With Lamine?

As for Lamine Yamal, we now know that his injury that he picked up with the Spanish national team is lingering and likely affected him in his battle with Nuno Mendes. While the 18-year-old isn’t known for his defensive intensity, there was a considerable drop off from him in the second half, likely due to the injury.

Nuno Mendes found space in the inside channels and that exposed Barcelona’s lack of dynamic athletes down their core. Pau Cubarsi is a reactive defender more than a proactive defender, as is Eric Garcia, and combining that with Tek’s reluctance to leave his line left Flick’s team defending on the back foot with a high line. All that amounts to a bunch of space for PSG and only a matter of time before they broke through.

Silver Lining Lesson

While pundits, including the usually insightful and generally correct Thierry Henry, criticized Flick’s high line, it still took until the 90th minute for PSG to break through for the winner. Yes, PSG were the better side and deserved the result, but Barcelona were not as far away from a positive result as the final result narrates. In the broader scope of the season, it’s a learning experience for Hansi Flick to see how close and how far his team is from the Champions League’s best. Only time will tell if those lessons will help.

For more on this match, check out the 5 Headlines from The Barcelona Podcast: