Hansi Flick's Blind Spot at Barcelona

SEVILLA, MONDAY – Barcelona is experiencing a poor trend as they approach the international break. After being humiliated by Paris Saint-Germain, it was Sevilla's turn to hand Barca their second defeat. Playing at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, Sevilla defeated Barca decisively with a score of 1-4 in the continuation of La Liga. Sevilla exposed the blind spot of Barca's Coach Hansi Flick, who insists on maintaining a high defensive line approach.

This victory was joyfully welcomed by Sevilla fans. Prior to this match, Sevilla had not defeated Barca at home for 10 years. Sevilla's coach, Matis Almeyda, studied the match between Barca and PSG in the UEFA Champions League to devise a strategy.

As a result, he changed the approach from three defenders to four defenders. This was done to strengthen the midfield in order to suppress the creativity of Barca's midfielders.

"We studied the match well and the result was satisfactory. If we had let Barcelona through, they would have hurt us. We had to make sacrifices and then take risks playing against one of the most pressing teams. It's very clear what we've been training for, both the good and the bad. I still think we're on the right track," Almeyda said after the match on Sunday (October 5, 2025), as quoted by Diario AS.

The decision bore fruit. Sevilla took the lead in the 13th minute through a penalty by Alexis Sanchez. By strengthening their midfield, Sevilla hindered Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, who were the brains behind Barcelona's game. As a result, they were able to freely pressure Barcelona's defense, ultimately forcing defender Ronald Araujo into a mistake that led to a penalty.

Barca coach Hansi Flick remains adamant about employing a high defensive line approach, even though this strategy has already been dismantled by PSG. The solution to breaking through Barca's high defensive line seems to have become common knowledge, which can be executed not only by top teams but also by mid-table teams such as Sevilla.

Isaac Romero's second goal for Sevilla exploited Barca's high defensive line. Ruben Vargas's swift dribbling down the wing pushed the offside line well back.

As a result, Barca's offside trap failed as the ball was in front of Romero when the low cross was delivered. PSG used a similar strategy to score the winning goal through Goncalo Ramos.

Although many parties claim that Barcelona's high defensive line approach is no longer effective, Flick insists that there is nothing wrong with his system. The German coach seems to be overlooking a blind spot, failing to acknowledge the significant gaps in his strategy.

"I believe this is not about the system and structure. I think we made a serious mistake in the first half. I do not want to discuss some of the things that happened today, but our performance in the first half was indeed lacking," said Flick.

According to Flick, the high defensive line approach supports a pressing style of play as he desires. However, this approach requires command in the backline, a role previously held by Inigo Martinez.

This season, Martinez has moved to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Without a conductor in the backline, Barcelona's high defensive line is very easily exposed by opponents.

"There are many things that actually need to be improved. When we have possession of the ball, we do not know how to escape from their one-on-one pressure. We are also lacking intensity in defense," said Barca midfielder, Pedri.

Barca was able to reduce the deficit through a goal by Marcus Rashford at the end of the first half. This goal marked Rashford's eighth contribution of the season, with a total of three goals and five assists. Barca's efforts to equalize briefly ignited when they were awarded a penalty.

However, striker Robert Lewandowski failed to convert his penalty. Flick said the outcome of the match could have been completely different if Lewandowski had been successful.

The momentum was ultimately controlled by Sevilla, who managed to score two additional goals through Jose Angel Carmona and Akor Adams a few minutes before the match concluded. The goals by Carmona and Adams once again exploited the wide gaps in Barcelona's high defensive line. Both goals originated from quick counterattacks.

These two consecutive defeats mark the second time Flick has experienced such a situation. Last season, Barcelona also faced consecutive losses when meeting Leganes and Atletico Madrid. Although Barcelona's high defensive line has become easy to dismantle, Flick does not seem inclined to change his approach.

"We must learn from today, (as well as) from what happened against PSG. Hopefully, this international break will end soon so that we can regain the important players we need and return to achieving victories for the fans," said Flick.

The defeat to Sevilla temporarily caused Barca to lose the top position in the standings. Real Madrid, which in another match defeated Villarreal, reclaimed first place with a total of 21 points, two points ahead of Barca in second place.