Real Madrid – Barcelona: Hansi Flick First Accolade With The Catalans (2-5)

Real Madrid bit the dust when they got swept aside by rivals, Barcelona in Supercopa de España final. Hansi Flick’s men translated an utter dominance to four goals in the first half. The referee sent Wojciech Szczęsny off. Nevertheless, it didn’t change anything as Barcelona fought equanimously until the whistle. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.


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Finally, Barcelona succeeded at registering Dani Olmo and Pau Victor after a long and breathtaking saga with official parties in Spain. Amid Juan Laporta’s struggles to fix Barcelona’s financial situation, Hansi Flick attained the first final with the Catalans since he took over. It hasn’t been an easy task for the German manager to guide a reeling ship to safe heaven. Injuries overwhelmed Barcelona. Nonetheless, Hansi Flick always appeared relentless in applying his philosophy, deeming injuries pointless and unjustified excuses.

As blood and flesh, Kylian Mbappé has arrived in Santiago Bernabéu. However, his heroic and consistent performances still didn’t land in Madrid, as he has been a flash in the pan since then. Likewise, Real Madrid has been fluctuating between peaks and valleys to the extent that doubt crept up to the fandom about Carlo Ancelotti’s tactical approaches and ability to drive the team to another coronation platform.

Barcelona lost the league lead to the Capital’s teams and regressed to third place in Laliga after they threw in the towel in stoppage time. They gave away utter dominance, accompanied by easy chances squandering against Atlético Madrid. The Catalans’ archenemies, Real Madrid, haven’t been convincing this term, looking pale and scattered, especially against big teams. Carlo Ancelotti’s team was feeble and unsettled even when they managed to grab victories.

Carlo Ancelotti maintained the same eleven that participated against Real Mallorca. Lucas Vázquez, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Antonio Rüdiger, and Ferland Mendy formed the defense. Eduardo Camavinga joined Federico Valverde in the pivot. Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappé composed the attack.

Hansi Flick also kept his trust in the same players who operated against Athletic Club. Wojciech Szczęsny started in goal for the third time in a row. Pau Cubarsí and Iñigo Martínez filled the center of the defense. Alejandro Balde played on the left, whereas Jules Koundé kept his position on the right. Marc Casadó partnered with Pedri in the pivot. Gavi operated as number ten behind Robert Lewandowski, who was flanked by Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.


Before the disaster takes place

Real Madrid commenced the game with clear intentions: setting in a block, pressing in chosen moments, then playing on the counter. The off-ball plan appeared to be flawed since the kickoff. Thibaut Courtois denied two big chances for Barcelona in the first four minutes. The first was Lamine Yamal’s shot from outside. The second was the end of an unpressurized buildup sequence.

Real Madrid sat in a 4-4-2 low/medium block, whereas Barcelona constructed their attacks in a 3-2-5 fashion in which Raphinha narrowed inside, allowing Balde to hug the touchlines. The third minute saw Pedri drag Jude Bellingham to the left in midfield to enable Iñigo Martínez to find Marc Casadó free in the center, as neither Federico Valverde stepped up nor Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé retreated quickly. Eduardo Camavinga was tied with Gavi who tended to lure the former to follow his lateral movement to the right-inside channel in order to vacate the central corridor for Lewandowski to drop in and link play.

Antonio Rüdiger didn’t follow Lewandowski’s deeper movement, allowing the latter with Gavi to overload Camavinga. Gavi fed Lamine Yamal and ran on the underlap behind Ferland Mendy. Camavinga was late in tracking Gavi’s run, which gave him territory to play the ball across into Raphinha’s head at the edge of the six-yard box. The Brazilian, with a faint, created separation from Lucas Vázquez to leap and head the ball. Courtois’ heroic reflex cleared it from the line of the net, denying an early lead.

Real Madrid upset the Catalans after they countered from a corner kick. Vinícius Júnior collected Ferland Mendy’s clearance and burst in transition with Kylian Mbappé. Alejandro Balde delayed Mbappé’s action until they arrived at the box. However, Balde didn’t commit to the last ditch, offering Mbappé the opportunity to open up the score.

When narrowing inside, Raphinha pinned Lucas Vázquez inside to release Balde down the left flank and put him in good crossing positions. Neither Vázquez nor Valverde tracked Raphinha’s movement inside the box to prevent him from receiving the cross.


One team show

As aforementioned, Raphinha operating inside was a headache for Lucas Vázquez, as the Brazilian never stopped circulating without the ball to generate space for his teammates with his dummy movement to deceive Vázquez and pulling him out or using his faints inside the box to create separation and space to take actions.


17th minute: Raphinha comes short between the lines, drawing up Lucas Vázquez and evacuating the space for Pedri to dash into. Iñigo Martínez picks out Raphinha, who flicks the ball to Pedri behind. Camavinga fails to keep track of Pedri. As a result, he has time and space to fire a shot. Aurélien Tchouaméni intervenes at the last moment to clear the ball out. 


Real Madrid relied on chipping long balls without clear patterns to win the ball in the air. Also, there weren’t tangible plot lines to interpret the second ball and counter-press to regain it quickly, which eased the process for Barcelona to recycle without dissipating energy in the high press.

Barcelona effortlessly broke down Real Madrid’s block, exploiting their scattered lines and deceiving their players to create space for Robert Lewandowski to dart deep between the lines. Real Madrid’s center-backs were late at jumping onto the Polish striker, which produced acres of space behind the backline for runners.


21st minute: Vinícius Júnior doesn’t block off the diagonal passing lane on Jules Koundé. In addition, Gavi shifts toward the right, dragging Eduardo Camavinga with him and vacating the space for Lewandowski to come deep. Antonio Rüdiger is late at stepping up, allowing Lewandowski to release Lamine Yamal in space behind. Ferland Mendy loses tabs on the seventeen-year-old because he is attracted by Gavi’s movement. Lamine Yamal drives forward, dribbles past Tchouaméni, and nets the ball home.


Ronald Araujo came in to replace Iñigo Martínez, who picked up an injury. Barcelona kept exploiting Real Madrid’s defensive lapses. Camavinga and Valverde not tracking back Barcelona’s midfielders cost their team the second goal. To elaborate, the referee awarded Hansi Flick’s team a penalty as Camavinga arrived late, planting his shoes in Gavi’s quadriceps inside the box.

Once Juanma Lillo, Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City, said, “The faster the ball goes, the faster it comes back“. Barcelona’s third goal was the embodiment of Junma Lillo’s quote. Thibaut Courtois clipped a long pass toward Vinícius Júnior on the left. Ronald Araujo won the first ball as easy as pie and headed it down to Jules Koundé ahead near the touchlines. The latter spotted Raphinha’s run, crashing the box between Vázquez and Tchouaméni. Raphinha turned Koundé’s diagonal long pass inside the net.


45+3 minute: Barcelona buildup sequence. Real Madrid presses in a 4-4-2 shape in which Mbappé and Bellingham jump onto the opposite center-backs, Camavinga and Valverde man-mark the double pivots, whereas Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior engage with the opposite fullbacks. Real Madrid’s lines are distant, providing Lewandowski space to drop off. Koundé sneaks behind Vinícius Júnior. As a consequence, Barcelona progresses.


On the counter, Hansi Flick designed a defensive system to prevent Real Madrid’s front players from being in one-versus-one situations. Therefore, the Catalans pounced in numbers on the ball holder, forcing him to play backward.

The last minute of stoppage time of the first half saw Barcelona transition, recovering the ball from Real Madrid’s subpar short corner kick execution. Lamine Yamal set Raphinha in space against Valverde, who didn’t time his tackle, allowing Raphinha to supply Balde behind. Ferland Mendy’s lateness in tracking back strewn Balde’s road with flowers to exacerbate Real Madrid’s situation.


Raphinha kills Real Madrid’s comeback aspirations 

Carlo Ancelotti brought in Dani Ceballos to replace Eduardo Camavinga in the middle of the park. Real Madrid entered the second half holding aspirations to turn the table ahead. Actually, it was the case after Vinícius Júnior targeted Rodrygo toward the far post as the latter blasted the ball hitting the post.

Nevertheless, Real Madrid’s feeble press was a hindrance and a burden, preventing the white team from a potential comeback.


47th minute: Barcelona buildup sequence leading to artificial transition. Real Madrid forces Barcelona to go wide. However, Jude Bellingham not sticking enough with Marc Casadó enables Barcelona to bypass the press. Before Balde’s pass, Pedri drops deep, vacating the space down the left-inside channel for Marc Casadó to move into diagonally. Lucas Vázquez jumps from his position onto Balde without blocking off the passing lane. Lewandowski comes deep, pulling Rüdiger out of his position to generate space for Raphinha, who adds the fifth goal.


Real Madrid was lost in the Catalans shadows, looking adrift and disoriented. Scattered concentration and rushed actions led them to release missed passes and mistaken decisions. On the other side, Barcelona seemed organized in and out of possession, kicking into full gear and driving the opponents to their doom.


Relentless ten men

The referee sent Wojciech Szczęsny off after he tackled Kylian Mbappé in a one-versus-one situation at the edge of the box. Iñaki Peña Sotorres and Dani Olmo came on for Gavi and Lamine Yamal. Rodrygo reduced the gap to three goals after he bent the ball from a free-kick spot toward the right of the net.

Barcelona retreated to their half, sitting in a compact 4-4-1 block, clogging the center and driving Real Madrid wide. Vinícius Júnior tended to drop out down the flank, dragging Koundé with him and feeding Kylian Mbappé behind in one-versus-one against Araujo. However, Barcelona’s captain dealt with the French professional, taking advantage of his physical traits and pace to get a handle on Mbappé’s tricks.

Real Madrid attempted to overload the left side and switch the play through Luka Modrić to Valverde, who operated as right back after Tchouaméni’s departure. However, Valverde’s crosses weren’t accurate enough to land on one of the heads in the box. Moreover, Dani Olmo succeeded at blocking off Valverde’s deliveries and forcing him to play backward passes.

Fran Garcia and Brahim Diaz came on for Ferland Mendy and Vinícius Júnior. Only Kylian Mbappé emerged as a potential savior of his team, shifting to the left to combine with Fran Garcia, operating in the left-inside channel, drawing up Jules Koundé and dribbling past him, setting Jude Bellingham in front of the goal with a back heel pass. The Englishman looked off-course at this fixture. Antonio Rüdiger opted for camping in Barcelona’s box in the last minutes of the game as a target for crosses. However, he joined the group of players who appeared off-track during the clash.


Takeaways

By failing to defend in all sorts of blocks, whether it’s a low or medium block or a high press, Real Madrid handed the game’s events in a plate to Barcelona, who exploited their rivals’ weaknesses by the book. Untracked players, fragile defense, vulnerability in defensive transitions, and inferior in-possession strategy contributed to the fangless state of the white team.

This was the second time Barcelona humiliated Carlo Ancelotti in Hansi Flick’s fashion. Unjustifiable and inexcusable performance, only Carlo Ancelotti’s tactical approach had the lion’s chunk of what Real Madrid looked like in the first place. Then, the players came next, as they appeared depleted and lost, committing primitive mistakes. Now, question marks start to loom in the sky about how much is left for Carlo Ancelotti’s balance before Florentino Perez calls the shots at the Italian coach.



Match plots will be added as soon as possible.

A football Writer focusing mainly on Tactical Analysis. Most Importantly Philosophy Lover. Founder of The Inside Channel. [ View all posts ]

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