Flick takes note: Barça scores, but still gives away too much at the back

FC Barcelona, despite the celebration of winning a match by scoring a total of seven goals —as happened against FC Seoul (3-7), being a real bulldozer at the offensive level—, is clear that even in victory, points can be identified to correct, in order to take their game to the next level. One of them, as evidenced at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, is the defensive section.

Three goals conceded: a wake-up call for the Barça defense

And yes, the Azulgrana team conceded a total of three goals, having, as happened in the match against Vissel Kobe —with an error by Pau Cubarsí in the exit—, specific disconnections that the rivals know how to capitalize on in a great way.

For example, in the first goal of FC Seoul —which, by the way, if it had been possible to review it in the VAR, should have been disallowed for offside—, the forward Cho Young-wook received the ball in the heart of the area without any opposition. He easily got rid of his closest marker, Ronald Araujo, who barely managed to bother him.

The Uruguayan did not receive any support from the other two Culés present in the area, who, without an assigned mark, did not know how to block his path. A clear positioning error. Despite the numerical superiority of Barcelona, they could not close down the South Korean forward.

Lack of forcefulness and order in the pressure after losing the ball

A similar inattention was experienced in the second goal of FC Seoul: loss of the ball in the middle zone and little forcefulness to fight for the second play derived from that error. How does the action end? With Anderson Oliveira filtering the ball to Yazan Al-Arab, who breaks away at speed and, in the face of the mark of three Azulgranas, enters the area to take out a crossed left-footed shot.

Again, in a play in which Barcelona had numerical superiority, they failed to stop a more forceful rival.

There is little less blame in the third goal, where the merit of the South Koreans seems total: they found the space to filter a pass behind the Culé defensive line. Then, Jung Han-min enters the area at speed and takes a shot from the inside edge with his right leg, extremely skewed to the right post of the goal. Szczęsny could do nothing, who, despite his good positioning, failed to repel the South Korean player's shot.

Hansi Flick will take note: improving defensive solidity is urgent

Thus, Barcelona, against a rival that in theory has less relevance due to context, ended up conceding three goals due to specific inattentions. Errors that, although overshadowed by the implacable offensive action of the Blaugranas, will surely be analyzed by Hansi Flick with a magnifying glass. It is key to correct them before the official competition, where you cannot afford to show weakness or concede those spaces.

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It is true that part of these errors can be attributed to the average pace of the preseason, but that does not exempt the team from addressing this pending issue. A point that could make a difference in highly demanding commitments.

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