The first half of the confrontation between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals this season was Blaugrana's worst performance under Carlo Ancelotti's era. Atletico led by 4 goals in the first half alone. If they were luckier, Diego Simeone's team would not have stopped at that number.
Marcos Llorente and Koke completely overwhelmed Flick's midfield shortage of personnel to the point that the German coach had to replace Marc Casado in the 36th minute. On the wings, Giuliano Simeone and Ademola Lookman broke through the high-pressing defense of the reigning La Liga champions with smart ball handling and quick diversions. Meanwhile, in attack, Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez really made waves.
Clearly Hansi Flick's approach was wrong. From the beginning of the season until now, Barca has always entered the field with the mindset of a team wanting to hold the ball more and impose it from the beginning. This playing style will help them win many matches with very large scores, but conversely, when continuously counter-attacked, conceding goals continuously like this is not uncommon. Remember in the Champions League qualifiers this season, Barca also lost to Chelsea 0-3.
After a very regrettable defeat to Inter in the Champions League semi-finals last season, the Camp Nou team is expected to have a more cautious approach this season. Inter is not a team that attacks too fiercely but still scores countless goals against Barca in the semi-finals last season. Hansi Flick understands this very well, but the force in his hands cannot meet it, especially in defense.
Hansi Flick has been forced to use 6 different central defender pairs this season, combining Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia, Gerard Martin, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde. Inigo Martinez's sudden departure to join Al-Nassr in the summer of 2025 has prevented Flick from finding a suitable partner to pair with Cubarsi. The "giant" is also confined due to many financial issues, so they cannot spend money. They have borrowed Joao Cancelo as a temporary remedy.
Injury is also a big problem for Hansi Flick. The German coach understands that the defense is very fragile, so he wants to compensate for the defense with attack. Raphinha is expected by the coaching staff to become the leader of the attack, having missed 13 matches this season due to a hamstring injury. The Brazilian striker was absent again in the recent defeat to Atletico due to having to rest for treatment of this injury.
Pedri is considered the heart of Barcelona's midfield. This midfielder is the player most trusted by Hansi Flick in the Barca squad but has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury again on January 21, 2026. This is the 2nd time Pedri has been sidelined for a long time due to this injury since the beginning of the season.
Barca's continuous conceding is also a problem this season Hansi Flick has to face. In the recent match, they were led 2-0 after only 14 minutes. The Catalan team was also led in the last 5 matches in the Champions League qualifying round against Club Brugge, Chelsea, Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague and Copenhagen.
In this series of matches, only 1 time Barca suffered a defeat, which was the away match against Chelsea. However, the defense of the remaining 4 teams was not really solid, so Barca's strikers could comfortably penetrate. Meanwhile, Atletico is a completely different opponent, so it is understandable that Barca could not reverse the game.
After two seasons in charge of Barcelona, Hansi Flick has won every domestic cup and now the Champions League. In a tournament with many knockout matches like this, choosing the right approach is extremely important because sometimes there is no chance to correct mistakes, completely different from playing a 38-round tournament like La Liga. Barca does not need to be a team that always plays beautifully, high-pressing, fierce attacks,... Sometimes just taking the initiative to defend - counter-attack from the beginning, Flick can achieve his goal.
Considering Flick's statements in the press conference after the defeat to Atletico Madrid, it can be seen that the German coach has realized this.
We have realized that lesson. The distance between the lines is too far, so Barcelona did not put pressure as desired. But anyway, I am still proud of my team. This is a heavy defeat, we need to accept this lesson and make things better.
