"The landslide of the Barça in the eliminatory against the Liverpool was physical"

Few forget the very hard hit that the FC Barcelona carried in Champions League losing against the Liverpool in the semifinals. The FC Barcelona had attained three goals of advantage in the party of gone in the Camp Nou, but neither this was sufficient to avoid a new European shipwreck like the sucedido in Rome a year backwards.

Claude Puel, French trainer that directed to the Monaco, to the Lille, to the Olympique of Lyon, to the Nice, to the Southampton and to the Leicester, analysed for El País the fall of the FC Barcelona in Champions League. For the technical Frenchman, the physical factor was determinant, since the team of Ernesto Valverde lost the balloon and no presionó the sufficient to recover it up.

Besides, it centred the problem in that the block is divided, with some players that do not defend the sufficient. "The problem of the Barça in the big parties is that we see two or three footballers that do not defend", said, adding that "the Liverpool was upper to the Barça in the gone and in the turn. Messi did the difference in the Camp Nou. At all more. In Anfield did not attain to have the ball in the second part and physically exploded. The landslide was, basically, physicist".

For Puel, the key is that Leo Messi and Luis Suárez remain descolgados and do not defend. "With Guardiola did the efforts to recover the balloon up, as it does now the City. Now repliegan and defend with eight or nine and Messi and Suárez do not return. They can not do 70 metres to tope to go down to do coverages. This translates in difficulties. They have lost the aggressiveness to recover the ball up and this involves that they open , leave spaces and squeeze physically without qualities for this", explained.

The fault of positioning, according to the French, does that Messi have fewer opportunities to take part. "Without positional continuity in contrary field, have to go and go back doing long routes and Messi loses connection with the game. The Barça needs that Messi take part with more frequency. Because when you repliegas to defend en bloc low have to defend with eleven players. With eight can not. It is necessary to choose how want to play and the Barcelona has not decided ", sentenced.

The key of the pressure, according to Puel

For Claude Puel, the pressure is something fundamental to dominate the parties. The French technician, in his reflection, ensured that this pressure is not question to do it with athletic players or corpulentos, but in changing the way of training. In fact, it went back to put to the Manchester City of example with players like David Silva, Bernardo Silva or Of Bruyne, that are not of physical profile, but that execute a big pressure.