Flick Seeks to Address Defensive Gaps at Barcelona
The newspaper reported that Barcelona conceded 39 goals during 34 official matches played across four different competitions this season, with an average of one goal per match. However, the most notable fact is that 26 of these goals were conceded in the first half, which is equivalent to 66% of the total goals. This directly affects the course of the matches and often forces the team to play under pressure and attempt to come back in the scoreline.
According to the same source, the early goals were distributed as 19 in La Liga, 5 in the Champions League, and 2 in the Spanish Super Cup, while the number of conceded goals significantly decreases in the second half. This allows Barcelona to correct the course relying on its offensive strength.
The newspaper indicated that conceding these early goals forced Barcelona to make several comebacks, with the team successfully turning the tables in 8 matches, while comeback attempts failed in other encounters. All of these saw goals conceded before the end of the first half, raising the failure rate to about 40%.
Mundo Deportivo confirmed that Flick emphasized in more than one press conference the necessity to raise the level of defensive concentration from the first minutes, to avoid conceding early goals that exhaust the team physically and tactically. Especially since Barcelona conceded goals at the beginning of 3 of the last 5 matches they played, making defense fortification a clear priority in the upcoming phase.
