Barcelona maximizing their output from one specific situation under Hansi Flick | OneFootball

Traditionally, FC Barcelona have been known for their possession-based style of play, characterised by intricate attacking plays involving quick passing and individual skills to beat the opposition defence.

As a result, there has not been a lot of emphasis on set pieces, as these situations are believed to be something that smaller teams take advantage of.

However, there have been some eras during which the reigning managers have put increased emphasis on this aspect of the game. For instance, Pep Guardiola had a true specialist in Tito Vilanova overseeing his team’s efficiency with set pieces. Similarly, Xavi Hernandez also had a specialist set piece coach in his staff.

This is also the case with Hansi Flick, and as Diario AS has noted, this emphasis on set pieces is also being quite apparent this season. In fact, of the 124 total goals that Barcelona have scored this season, 22 have come from set pieces.

8 of these 22 goals have come from penalties, another 8 from corners, 5 indirectly from free-kicks, while another 1 has come from a free-kick taken directly at goal. This lone goal was scored by Pablo Torre, who is not one of the regular starters for Flick this season.

Despite their effectiveness with set pieces, the Blaugranes continue to suffer from the lack of a player who can score directly from free-kicks, even though they have players like Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, and Pedri, who all have the technical ability to score from these situations.

However, the Catalans have still been able to maximize the advantage of set pieces by their coordinated movements in the box and the ability of players to put the ball in the right areas.

Only in the last two games, Barcelona have scored 3 goals from corners, all of which were sent in by Raphinha. Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez were the scorers against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey, while Ronald Araujo got on the scoresheet with another corner from the Brazilian against Real Sociedad in La Liga.