This season the goals scored against Barcelona cannot be celebrated in style. It is advisable to do it with a small mouth, especially if they have arrived preceded by a long pass or by means of a counterattack. It is possible that the desire has betrayed one of the forwards, he has gone ahead and fallen into an irregular position.
To its great offensive production (50 official goals) and the brilliant moment of form of its forwards, Hansi Flick’s team has added the specialization in leaving its opponents offside with a defense that risks placing itself very advanced, at a average height of 51 meters from his goal.
Courage away from home
Madrid fell into the trap 12 times and Alavés, on 11 occasions, and Osasuna, on 10
This season, Barça is pulling the line with millimeter precision and the forwards are falling into the trap again and again, seeing their chances and even their goals nullified. Barça has caused ninety-nine offsides at this start of the season, in which they have perfected a technique that is as daring and difficult to master as it is effective when executed correctly. So the next one, if it arrives tomorrow in the game against Red Star, will be number 100.
Barcelona defends forward and for that it is key not to retreat on the last line. High pressure and recoveries in the opposite field are two of the dogmas of Flick’s style and in order to be a compact team that does not let the opponent breathe, it is important that the defense supports. To do this, he must overcome the basic instinct of running back to protect the goal, now occupied by Iñaki Peña, and also press and reduce the spaces, without caring about the meters they leave behind him, a true estate.
13 goals disallowed due to offside
Espanyol, like Madrid, had two goals disallowed and in September Villarreal was left without three goals
That is why the German coach began to instill his idea of placing the defense forward since the preseason. Work has been done with images and on the training field. “We have seen many videos,” Koundé confessed in an interview with this newspaper. “If one goes out, the others have to accompany him,” explained Pau Cubarsí in Rac1. In that sense, trust in the one giving the order is important.
The best example of the synchronization of movements that the Barcelona defense is having are the two goals disallowed against Espanyol on Sunday in the Montjuïc derby. In both actions, the plays are as tight as they are fair thanks to the semi-automatic offside technology that is now also used in the League. In the first, the work of Jofre, Tejero had the toe of his boot forward. In the second it was Jofre who, at the beginning of the play on the left wing, started with a bit of his sleeve and his ear in an illegal position, so Puado’s goal did not go up on the scoreboard either.
Since the preseason
Barça has worked with videos and on the field to detect the exact moment and synchronize the step forward
In total, there are already 13 goals that Barça has managed to cancel out with the offside tactic. Totally unhinged, Kylian Mbappé left the classic, who saw him beat Iñaki Peña twice but both times he benefited from an incorrect position. Up to eight times his races were invalidated, leaving him frustrated and unable to use one of his great virtues: speed racing.
The 12 offsides of the classic are the record of this season. Because Barcelona did not hesitate on a stage like the Bernabéu. Not only did he continue to use the tactic without hesitation but he also did it very well, neutralizing one of the white dangers and managing to keep a clean sheet. But before that, Alavés had already caught 11 times in Mendizorroza and Osasuna committed 10 infractions in El Sadar. All this in away games for the Barcelona fans.
The average height of the defense is 51 meters
The Blaugrana are looking to press high and for this it is key not to retreat and for the defense to also press forward
In addition to Espanyol and Real Madrid, Alavés also had two goals disallowed in Medizorroza (0-3). The first and biggest victim of the strategy was Villarreal, who saw up to three goals disallowed in September. Also in the Champions League the tactic has proven effective as each of the three rivals (Monaco, Young Boys and Bayern) were caught in a goal.
Offside has become one of the hallmarks of the new Barça, which uses it in an increasingly systematic way. Flick’s team shoots the line successfully 6.6 times per game. Although it also has its risks if the right moment is not calculated well, as happened in Monaco. Then, Cubarsí jumped for a long ball and did not clear it – he did not even touch it – which caught Iñigo Martínez further back and enabling Ilenikhena. The forward was able to stand alone against Ter Stegen to score the 2-1 that meant the first defeat of the season.
Good rapport
In ten games the defense formed by Koundé, Cubarsí, Iñigo and Balde have played together at the start
But there has not been another mistake. This is contributed to by the good communication and rapport that Cubarsí and Iñigo have acquired after 13 games as a centre-back pair. The young man from Girona (17) and the Basque veteran (33) may not be the fastest but they are being intelligent to take the step forward and leave their opponents without the candy.
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