Barcelona's 4-1 victory over Bayern Munich is considered an affirmation of a new period for the Catalan team. The special thing is not only the score, it is also the way Hansi Flick's team has shown when completely controlling the match.
Barca played with a bold defensive strategy when almost the entire squad pressed high. In addition, the Blaugrana starting lineup has up to 8 mature players from La Masia training center.
The defeat of Bayern Munich, the club that made Barca suffer a 2-8 defeat 4 years ago, brought joy and excitement to fans. This was Barcelona's most memorable victory at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium, which was temporarily their home stadium during the rebuilding phase of Camp Nou.
Barcelona have long played with a high defensive line, but this season they are taking this strategy to a new level in a more adventurous way. This boldness is not surprising under Hansi Flick.
Previously at Bayern Munich, the German strategist created a innovative defense with flexibility in applying offside traps. However, what Flick is doing with Barcelona is even more courageous, having to work with young defenders and an inexperienced goalkeeper like Inaki Pena.
Statistics show that Barcelona are playing a completely different style of play to other teams in Europe's top five leagues. They have the most of the number of of of of offsides and play with the most effective passes through the opponent's defense.
Bayern Munich is the only team to play more penetrating passes than Barca this season. However, Hansi Flick's team did not back down when creating an adventurous 6-0-4 formation. The "Giants" defenders pushed up so high that they almost stood with the midfield.
The difference was made in the first minute of the match, when Barca's defense pushed up and caught a series of Bayern players offside. This forced goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to make a long pass upwards. Immediately, Barca launched a quick attack with Raphinha dropped behind the opponent's defense.
Raphinha was the brightest star of the match with a hat-trick. His second goal was a cut-in from the wing and a finish, while the third goal was a combination of speed and technique. However, the Brazilian star's opening goal really reduced his role this season when he completed well in the "number 10" role behind Robert Lewandowski.
I have never had a player like Raphinha. He is very dynamic both with and without the ball. Raphinha's speed is amazing. Every team needs such a player" - Hansi Flick shared.
The transformation Flick is bringing to Barca is especially special in that he does not speak Spanish but only uses English during training sessions. However, this does not cause any obstacles because both teachers and students understand each other very well.
In addition to the new things Hansi Flick brings, Barca now also owns a promising La Masia generation. Young talents such as Pau Cubarsi, Marc Casado and Fermin Lopez all played well and played an important role in the squad. Meanwhile, Pedri and Gavi are at the peak of development. Meanwhile, it can be said that Lamine Yamal is a top winger in Europe.
Hansi Flick's side are building a promising new era and creating the purest Barca since Pep Guardiola's reign.
