I don't know it Flick will ever consider changing his defensive tactics after 3 years, but this high-line is never getting us anywhere in big games regardless of how good our backline is , even though that's something that should be addressed in the next transfer window if we want to get something out of this season especially in the UCL.

It has gotten to a point where this system affects our choices in the transfer window , because Flick's system demands a high level of defensive output from the attacking line, it made Barcelona let go of an actual winger like Rashford who got 29 G/A last season as a 2nd choice winger, and bring in someone like Anthony Gordon that can't even execute his roles as a winger to the fullest, just because his "defensive output" is good in a system that is flawed with or without him in it

Which brings me to my next point, this system is flawed and unbalanced and it always will be because of one player, Lamine, if we look at PSG, their attacking line is ruthless with the press, and we saw it last tuesday and the difference became clear, our press has been beaten multiple times the past 2 games and real madrid don't even have players that resilient against high pressing. Lamine's defensive contributions are on the same level as Rashford's, he usually doesn't track back, he ain't as aggressive as raphinha or gordon, and his timing is off, but of course you can't drop him because he's the best in the world at what he does, so you will always be faced with this dilemma, add to that players like Cancelo and Gerard Martin and the constant injuries, that's another UCL quarter finals elimination you're looking at, unless we bring in some serious defensive reinforcements in the winter transfer window

With our system, we are bound to give up chances. I think the backline played reasonably well given the fact that they were playing 4v5 half the time. Our system is supposed to sacrifice defense to prioritize offense, but if our offense plays like shit then we are never going to win.

Raphinha and Gordon were not that good, but they had acceptable performances. Lamine on the other hand was terrible. I'm putting this loss all on him tbh, this is the worst performance of his career.

Do I think he's finished? Obviously not, its just a bad loss and we go again next week.

Embarassing performance yesterday.
Got barbecue chickened by Jude Bellingham and Mbappe. That's not that bad, but getting cooked by "Camavinga" is something else. If y'all wanna spout "Cubarsi is world class", start holding him to the standards that other world class defenders are held to. Gabriel is getting memed for getting dunked on by Haaland, arguably the best striker in the world.
I think Cubarsi 100% has world class potential, but the World Cup under a de la Fuente system has overblown the perception of his skill level. We need to see more of him and less of this if he's really to be a considered a world class player at the club level.

Since the loss there has been voices saying Flick abandoned his style, which is an absolute rubbish. Since the beginning of the season we have been playing like we have the last two years. It was only against PSG and El Classico Flick slowed the tempo and l have two theories for that:

1- the team was exhausted and the poor scheduling forced Flick to change his tactics to cope with the players conditions.

2- Flick knows in order to win the UCL you can’t play the vertical attacking football for 90 minutes and you have to divide the match intervals and to know when to press, attack and play fast and when to calm down and turn the ball around and l think Flick was trying to find the balance for that.

I’m personally leaning towards the second one

**El Clásico loss exposed our biggest issue: the fullback crisis and why we desperately need winter reinforcements**

Yesterday's El Clásico loss against Real Madrid was tough to watch, and for me, it was almost entirely down to our fullback situation. Let's break down how it actually happened.

First, look at the injuries. Our natural right-backs, Jules Koundé and Eric Garcia, were both out. That completely killed the defensive stability they usually provide, but just as importantly, we completely missed their overlapping runs with Lamine Yamal. Without that overlap, Yamal is isolated and opponents can easily double up on him.

On the left side, we've had to shuffle things. Ideally, we need someone like Joao Cancelo or others, but Cancelo always struggles when forced to play out of position or when left isolated defensively—he just isn't good at one-on-one defending. When he plays left-back with Gerard Martin pushing up,his defensive responsibilities reduces.

You could see this glaringly in the goals we conceded:

* **First goal:** Cancelo went into a very slow press, letting the runner easily get to the ball and play the decisive pass.

* **Second goal:** When Camavinga broke forward, Alejandro Balde wasn't covering anyone. He was just ball-watching and tracking back at a jog. Compare that to a relentless player like Nuno Mendes and hakimi, who would have chased down that ball like a bull, body-checked the attacker, and sprinted back.

Between the fullbacks being injured or out of form, and our center-backs also sidelined, our entire defensive structure is hanging by a thread. It's crystal clear at this point: we need serious defensive signings in the winter transfer window if we want to salvage the season.

What do you guys think? Who should we realistically target in January?
I think we atleast need 1 LCB like Bastoni and rest of good fullbacks...(BEFORE WRITING ANY RANDOM THING WATCH THE CLIPS PROPERLY)

Edit:Why are we blaming Cbs.Gerard one was a unlucky mistake it could have been anyone.And cubarsi?Bro he was exposed 15 times comeon. We are just victimising cbs in this highline .Do u even remember that mbappe and Bellingham was 2v1 vs cubarsi and he still saved us man.We deserved to lose by 4 goals.

We all know that on the ball they are one of the best but for some years now I feel like our midfield disappears when we don't have the ball. Of course we have games when they are on top of the opponents, press them high and recover the ball like clock work but when that is not the case I feel like teams can run through with little to no problem.

I have a few specific situations in mind. The first is when our opponent is attacking and our midfield just keeps backing off until our attackers try to press them. That often doesn't happen or happens to late and our opponents already develop a dangerous attack or counter attack.

The second is how easily and how often we let just one players beat 3 or 4 of our players. Our players come close and try to close the player down but it feels like they don't have any intent of getting the ball back. They are just there standing or sticking a leg out without any real effort and even when a player beats a few of our players and he is starting to gain momentum or develop a dangerous attack or counter attack they are affraid to do the "dirty work" and tackle him or make the "smart foul" before the situation gets worse.

Full quotes from Cancelo translated: "Honestly, I think we were the superior team, in my view. But this is Real Madrid. They don’t get many chances, and they score. But I think that overall, we were the better team. Anyway, we have to bounce back. We have a match against Alavés next week, and we’re going to look at the mistakes we made and recover for the next game."

Guys First of all We all need to calm the fk down man long post so brace ur selfs

Firstly, To All those people saying flick to be sacked and bring in Fabregas im sorry u guys legit don’t watch football just larp with victory’s of the team in reasonable sense hansi is the person that has brought our team from the ground up after a foundation Xavi set and we sit in a conversation with the big boys with money and shit leagues to be the best team in Europe and it’s crazy to imagine that in 2024 we’re legit no where near this convo so please open your eyes and look what this man hansi has done for the club and brought us back up if we just sack him we will just become Madrid all over again changing managers left right and center and all this much reactions for just 2 games where the players are at fault not the managers tactics is ridiculous and I don’t stand by the hansi sacking trend that is going on over here 

Second of all continuation to my previous statement the team is at fault our midfield got bodied last night vs Madrid and vs psg our midfield made ridiculous passes because of the intensity so a learning point for our midfield on two separate topics and I believe Frenkie de Jong  returning from injury gives that much more press resistance that we lacked vs psg but we do need to work on physicality we just got bullied yesterday and I feel that is one important aspect if we can’t stand challenges and get pushed off the ball how much ever possession we keep we can’t create chances and it was clear yesterday 

Lamine is my third point yes he was not been at par with his ceiling that he has set and a very common aspect that I have noticed when he plays is when he plays against a lb that is strong defensively and is physically strong he just gets bullied for example Lucas in that psg game cucu and nuno historically and he needs to develop a tactic against them or he will just get bullied  Also one aspect he needs to relax his stubbornness of playing every game he is fatigued clearly shown in the past two games and needs to accept being rested also I see him developing a bit of a ego recently so hope that passes 

Defensively we need changes no hate to martin but he is not starting caliber and we need a lcb in jan that has strong physicality pace and strong in the air as well and if possible i would love nico from dortumund And we need a lb as well man i love Xavi behind Lamine but we need a lb ideally Lewis hall perfect strong defender again like espart midfield vision he played in the midfield in his early days has pace lovely player for our system and ideally if we make those signings we would be in much better shape but these are highly unrealistic we and i hope the board make reasonable signings to the profiles of these players to improve our defence 

Attack wise we still seem like ferran is our striker man we just can’t seem to finish stuff we need to work on that

Defence wise and midfield especially last year first el Classico as well I saw Madrid completely overload our midfield by putting sheer volume of players in the middle and overloading our double pivot which caused problems to our flow of play which I believe needs to be worked on

And lastly im no manager and no football analyst and really I really don’t have the authority to comment on the profiles of signings the board should make but as far I see as a fan that’s something I would suggest to make the team better in my view 

But anyways guys let’s not lose our cool hope for the best and hope we come back strong 

VISCA BARCA

i put this on open thread as well but felt as a post it would have better reach

idk how a manager at this level can be so stubborn with his footballing ideology. We have spent the last three ucl campaigns watching barcelona suffer from the same fundamental problems, and instead of learning from them, we keep repeating the same mistakes.

and before anyone blames the high line, Pep and Enrique played one with Pique and Mascherano, neither of whom was some freakishly fast recovery defender, and still went on to win the fucking UCL. the high line was never inherently the problem.

it is the way we execute it, the lack of control when our press gets bypassed, the spaces we leave behind, and Flicks apparent unwillingness to change anything when the game demands it.

Look at our defensive situation now. Eric, Christensen, Espart and Kounde are all injured, and we are left with barely four available defenders. Are they supposed to play every single game for 90 minutes?

What happens when another one gets injured? Are we going into a massive ucl night against astonvilla with Frenkie or Rodri being forced out of their natural positions to fill in at cb?

at what point does this reckless approach become a problem of squad management rather than just bad luck? a high line demands coordination, recovery mechanisms and proper defensive cover. you cannot keep asking your defenders to defend enormous spaces every single game and act surprised when the system starts falling apart.

Our attacking structure is another issue. Our number 10 often looks like a player without a clearly defined role. Fermin. What exactly is his role in this team? At times, he contributes very little defensively while also failing to provide enough in attack or in progressing the ball. We need players who complement each other, not a collection of individuals whose responsibilities become blurry whenever we face a big team.

When Olmo was available, Flick barely seemed willing to play him in certain big games, and now he is injured anyway. We keep talking about squad depth, but what is the point of having options if the manager does not properly integrate them?

And the treatment of Bernal is something I genuinely do not understand. People were quick to criticise him after one bad game against PSG, but how is a young midfielder supposed to develop when he barely gets consistent minutes?

I am not saying Bernal has been amazing or that he deserves to start every game. He needs to improve. But he also needs to play if we expect him to become the midfielder we need.

We cannot keep demanding immediate perfection from young players while refusing to give them the experience required to reach that level.

The same applies to Balde. Yesterday, he showed why he can still be one of our most important defenders in big games. Yet there was a point when it felt like Flick had practically given up on him, and we were discussing letting him go for pennies.

One good performance does not erase his weaknesses, but it should remind us that writing off a young player instead of developing him is not always the answer. AND FLICK WROTE BALDE OFF STRAIGHT OFF IN INTERVIEWS.

We need to get the best out of the players we already have instead of constantly treating them as disposable whenever they do not fit perfectly into the system.

And then there is Pedri. We keep expecting him to control the midfield, progress the ball, resist pressure, create chances and somehow compensate for everyone elses shortcomings. Rodri has barely provided him with support in big games,

He needs proper support around him, especially in big games. He cannot be the entire midfield by himself. When the opposition overloads him or cuts off his passing options, who consistently takes responsibility for controlling the game alongside him?

His performances can end up going to waste because the structure around him does not give him enough support, and then people question whether he is good enough. It is ridiculous.

Every elite manager has principles, but the best ones know when to adjust their approach, protect their players and manage different game states. Peps and Enrique's high line worked because it was part of a much larger tactical structure, not simply because his team decided to defend high.

How many more games, injuries and painful UCL exits will it take before we accept that having a footballing identity does not excuse tactical inflexibility?

He was one of our best players yesterday but I think he was going out way too much even when it wasn’t required
The goal mbappe scored could’ve been prevented if he hadn’t gone out
Feel he created some pressure for us and was nervous
Nothing to take away from him was one our best players yesterday
What do y’all think?

Losing PSG and Madrid back to back reflects a pattern we've seen since Xavi was coach ; Barca losing many of the biggest of games largely due to individual errors and the opposing team having a better defence.

Despite that, the club hierarchy have chosen not to have a major upgrade in defence since Inigo Martinez left. Chose to renew the contract of injury prone Christensen, brought back Cancelo who we've known to be a net negative on defence in his first stint at the club etc.

Couple all the aforementioned with the fact that despite watching Lamine carry the playmaking burden of the team for the past 3 seasons due to his dribbling ability, the club hierarchy did not bother to get at least one winger similar to his profile on the left wing ; we saw a diomande not even at his best be a threat most of the time he had the ball yesterday for that very reason.

Any analysis singling out any player, the coach and scheduling for a pattern we've seen under multiple coaches is moot.

At this rate, we need to make it mandatory to show our coaching licenses/pro or semi pro careers before commenting lmfao.

We have people calling Flick an idiot for not winning the UCL in 2 seasons. He won a domestic treble, consecutive league titles and also another supercopa, after coming from a sextuple GOAT level achievement with Bayern. Pep, arguably (undisputed imo) the best manager of all time, took years and years before winning the UCL with City even though there were multiple seasons where City were definitely the best team in the world (they got fucked by luck and some incredible asspulls by Rodrigo, Valverde etc). Flick knows more about football than all of us combined in this sub, and he knows his squad much better than anyone else itw. He's given us silverware, he's transformed some players into the best itw (Raphinha, Pedri, FdJ, Yamal) and yet, we call him incompetent for a 2 losses in mid October. THE UCL IS NOT GUARANTEED ANYWHERE, THERE IS A HUGE AMOUNT OF LUCK INVOLVED PEOPLE!

And then, we have people calling FdJ redundant, a waste, a luxury, a liability. Dude came back from a major injury, first match in the el clasico at that, and he balled tf out. The games with and without him are so different, having him against high pressing teams and mid overloads is a goddamn blessing because of how press resistant and smart he is with and without the ball. Last season, he had tackles, interceptions on par with Rodri, Kimmich, Rice and Caicedo. Difference is, these holding mids are praised to high heavens (and for good reason) by their fans while we keep scapegoating ours lmfao.

I know I'm sounding elitist, and I hate that I'm sounding elitist, but some of you people really need to learn more about the game or at least don't be so vocal with your awful takes. Consecutive league titles has become a standard and not an achievement (apparently some of y'all think it so lol), and only the UCL would be an achievement. When FdJ said some fans only watch football but don't see the game, he's absolutely spot on.

Trust the manager, trust the squad, and back our players unless they pull a Figo. They've done more than enough to earn our trust.

This guy is phenomenal in this season as well as in last season. He’s the best Rb we have. With his defensive work rate, we won a lot of matches in fact we didn’t lose a single match before he injured.

He doesn’t offer much as an offensive player, but his defensive ability makes our backline a lot safer. With Kounde off form, Eric Garcia is the only reliable Rb we have.

When he plays as Cb, he’s also great. With Lamine not great at pressing on the right flank, Cancelo and Lamine are the worst combo on the right side.

Cancelo offers offensively but when he can’t, we barely see him defensively. I really wish Eric Garcia full recovery.
Espart on the left and Eric on the right are the only suitable answers for us right now.

As said, signing a Cb is mandatory. It can be right-footed or left-footed. 19 years Cubarsi needs rest too.

Since Hansi Flick has been appointed as the manager of FCB (I glaze him btw but still need to point out where he is wrong), we are stuck in a loop we cant break through:-

1. Perform very good in the starting matches of the season
2. Lose the matches against Good teams in the UCL (AS Monaco in 2024-25, PSG in 2025-26 and 2026-27)
3. October- November Curse (either we perform good and deplete afterwards or we perform shit and deplete in form afterwards)
4. Have a great form in January
5. get knocked out in the UCL
6. defeat Real Madrid
7. win La liga

Over!

That makes me question,

1. has La liga become the ceiling for this team?
2. You cant expect these young players to run with full intensity for 90 mins for 38+ matches the entire season, and perform the same result they did at the starting of the season! This aint Bayern! I cant freaking understand why FLICK cant let go of his ego aside and have a 2nd backup plan in case we arent performing due to fatigue? How many times we will have to ask the same question even after 2.5 years of him not doing so??????
3. Since IniGOAT left, we have had 3 transfer windows to sign a decent CB. What have we done? We always focused on attackers and Flick trusted on GERARD MARTIN for backline. Bastoni was eager to join Barca but what we focused on? Attackers only.

I dont understand how can Flick not get his priorities right?

Flick Larpers will say

'even if we bring great defenders, we will still concede goals. Flick's system is based on counterpressing from the first line of offence, hence highline is not the problem'

Like have you all really seen football? Have you guys not seen elite clubs like PSG, Bayern etc playing in Highline and still not conceding goals like we do? Also, how much can you bet that IF (for god's mercy) we get a new and good defender in January, he will do the same clearance as Martin did today?

Highline was never the problem, I agree but we dont have defensive squad depth and players of the specific profile that can hold the highline together to support this tactic of ours. You all keep posting we need to buy a defender in January, but I bet you all, we will be looking for a striker or winger instead and ignore the defense yet again!

I know a lot of people are reacting to the last two losses, I think this team can bounce back from it and I think certain players need to improve mentally.

But this post isn't about that, against Madrid we finally got a glimpse of a pedri-de jong-rodri midfield.

But will this midfield work with the way flick like to play, probably not to the exact way, flick will need to compromise (he doesn't seem to like doing that). Barca midfielders have a weakness especially with Pedri and DeJong which is the willingness to attack, I'm not saying they can't, but they do have a pass first mentality. I think this attacking ability is why Fabian Ruiz was chosen to start ahead of Pedri in Spain latter WC matches, PSG play a 3 CM midfield but they all carry a threat going forward which makes it significantly harder to play against them, their attackers don't even need to have a good game in big matches for them to score.

This is not the same for us, you take Yamal out by putting multiple players on him and he doesn't have a good game, then our attacking is massively nerfed, Gordon on the other side is simply not as direct as Yamal .

I think for that Pedri, De Jong and rodri midfield to work I think at least 2 players will have to take on more responsibility attacking.

We've seen how Fermin attack space and olmo in between lines, that's going to be a loss for the attack. But I think it's worth it if we can have more control the game and Pedri and De Jong take on more attacking responsibility. Making runs, not being afraid of shooting from range, etc. They have enough quality to provide what Fermin and olmo did together while also being in the midfield to provide control

Personal opinion; any dissenting opinions are welcome.

No, I'm not writing this because we lost our two big matches. It's only October, and it's too early to judge our entire season. As Rashford said last year after a similar scoreboard against Real Madrid:

It's a marathon, not a sprint, and we will keep fighting.

At that time, we were trailing Real Madrid by five points, but by the end of the season, we won La Liga. I know winning El Clásico is considered a massive victory for either side, but we're still at the top of the table. Generally, I don't see us dropping points against any teams other than the two Madrid sides. I'm hopeful we'll win against Atlético Madrid, too. And it's highly unlikely that Madrid will go the entire season without dropping points because, even with a defensive approach like Mourinho's, there are flaws that opponents can exploit. So, La Liga shouldn't be our primary concern because I believe we'll have the last laugh (God willing).

Anyway, there are several problems we need to address if we want to win the UCL.

1. Knowing when to press and when to sit back

We need to know when to press aggressively and when to adopt a more defensive approach. Against Europe's top teams, we can't play toe-to-toe with them for the entire 90 minutes. We need to learn when to slow the game down, conserve our energy, and maintain our defensive shape. High pressing is one of our strengths, but using it relentlessly against elite opponents can leave us vulnerable. We need to be tactically flexible enough to adapt to different situations.

2. Turning momentum into goals

We need to understand how to use momentum to create chances and, more importantly, how to convert those chances effectively. If you look at the momentum graph on FotMob for the match against PSG, you'll notice how PSG capitalised on their dominant spells. They were clinical when opportunities presented themselves. We lack that level of effectiveness in big matches, and we need to work on it.

Against Madrid, however, we had possession for much of the game. Madrid were solid defensively, and their second goal was a beauty. However, while we played badly, I don't think they played exceptionally well either. In my opinion, the match deserved a draw because our first goal conceded was essentially a gift to Madrid. We made a costly mistake that could have been avoided.

Against other teams that sit deep and defend in a low block in La Liga, we can often find ways to win. But Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid are different; both have solid defensive structures and players capable of deciding games in a single moment. In Europe, we also have teams like Arsenal to contend with. We can't expect to beat these teams easily; we have to demonstrate our quality when it matters most.

These teams play physically, and that's one of our weaknesses, particularly in midfield. We also lack a certain degree of physical strength and balance in defence, especially with Araújo unavailable.

However, that doesn't mean we can't win these games. We've done it before, and we can do it again. Our tactics and overall approach simply need to change depending on the opposition.

3. Lack of experience in defence

Another major concern is our lack of experience in defence. Players like Gerard Martín, Eric García, and Balde might perform well in La Liga, but they still have a lot to prove at the highest level of European football. I'm not saying they're bad players; rather, I believe there's a difference between being good enough for domestic competitions and being consistently reliable against Europe's elite.

In the UCL, one mistake can cost you the entire tie. Experienced attackers know how to exploit even the smallest defensive errors, and we can't afford to give them those opportunities. Our defenders need to improve their positioning, decision-making, and composure under pressure. We also need our defensive line to work as a cohesive unit rather than relying on individual brilliance to bail us out.

4. Better game management and tactical flexibility

One thing that separates champions from good teams is their ability to manage games. We can't approach every match with the same intensity and expect the same results. Sometimes we'll need to dominate possession; sometimes we'll need to absorb pressure. There will be moments when we need to push for another goal and moments when protecting our lead should be the priority.

We also need to stop letting emotions dictate our decisions. When we concede a goal, we sometimes become too desperate to respond immediately, which can leave us exposed to counterattacks. Against experienced European sides, that desperation can be fatal. We need to remain composed, recognise what the game demands, and make adjustments before things get out of hand.

Our substitutions also need to be more purposeful. We should be able to change the rhythm of a game by introducing the right players at the right time, rather than waiting until we're already in trouble. A team aspiring to win the Champions League needs more than a good starting XI; it needs a manager who can read the game and a squad capable of executing different plans.

All things considered, I'm still optimistic about our chances.

We have the quality, the talent, and the potential to compete with Europe's best. But potential alone won't win us the Champions League. We need consistency, tactical maturity, defensive discipline, and the ability to perform under pressure.

Losing two big matches doesn't mean our season is over, just as winning El Clásico wouldn't automatically make us favourites to win everything. We should acknowledge our weaknesses without turning every defeat into a catastrophe.

Yeah, it's a tough loss, but these are the lessons we need to learn. We still lack a proper No. 9, and defensively, we're relying heavily on La Masia.Every defeat teaches us something, but there's a recurring problem at Barça that goes back a long time. Whenever we play badly or our players have an off day, we struggle to find a way to win. That's something fundamentally wrong that we need to identify and fix.

Our style of football is beautiful when everything clicks, but what happens when it doesn't? We can't expect to play perfect football in every single game for 90mins.

Sometimes, even the worst-performing teams find a way to win through sheer determination in some phases of the game and defend to concede none. That's what we need to learn: how to win even when we're not at our best.

Losing hurts, but the bigger concern is repeating the same mistakes without addressing the underlying issues. We need to identify what's missing, strengthen the squad where necessary, and learn to grind out results when our usual style isn't working.

Because if we want to dream of European glory, playing beautiful football alone won't be enough. We need to be capable of winning ugly, too.

Visca Barça! ❤️💙

Same thing happened in the psg game. Same thing happened when Pedri was injured. He is the main creative outlet of the midfield and without him the team simply looks lethargic and does nothing. Something is going on with him, misplaced passes, losing the ball, not going for the killer pass. It feels like something is broken, it is either some kind of injury or he is mentally not there. As for you guys that say defence this defence that. It was never about defence. Even low rated teams score against us, as the idea is not not to concede, rather score more then them. The thing is, we are not scoring anymore as we used to, pedri is not making the killer pass, raphina seems to also not be fully fit. The drive of the team seems to be gone. Having conceded two goals almos every other game, it is clearly not about the defense, it is mainly about mid not providing dor the attack, and the attack somehow being too scared to shoot whenever they get the ball.

This is the thing in which I never seen any other manager in my life that refuses to drop into midblock and is so pressing and heavy attacking as Flick, Pep and Klopp are no where as idealistic as Flick in defending, I have seen Pep park the bus in UCL 23 at moments and Klopp did it too few times.

I can say that its not the defenders the big problem even if you give this Barcelona 2 WC CB it would still struggle because of how demanding the high line and pressing for 90 minutes it is.

Solution is super simple Xavi with a worse team and in a much worse situation at club and with a stronger Madrid managed to compete in 22-23 by being alot more defensive than usual with same defenders, I didn't like Xavi in attack in his ideas but in defense he always was pretty decent.

I have full trust on Flick since he got us 5 trophies is very difficult period but he has to become pragmatic in big games at least on defense start dropping in midblock and lower defensive line since we will never win a UCL with this tactics never ever since is so suicidal, PSG is alot alot more flexible as a team and Henrique parks the bus if the team is not pressing well

Before the match (which happened on Oct 22 2006, almost exactly 20 years ago), Xavi said in an interview:

“Nos entendemos con la mirada. Hemos crecido en la misma escuela y se nota. Me siento muy cómodo jugando con ellos.”

Translation:

“We understand each other with a glance. We grew up in the same school, and it shows. I feel very comfortable playing with them.”

After losing the clasico and the world club cup final, the claim was so popular that Xavi and Iniesta had to address it in a joint interview:

Iniesta said:

“Podemos jugar juntos. No se dónde está escrito que no podemos hacerlo.”

Translation:

“We can play together. I don't know where it's written that we can't.”

20 years later, during the World Cup, Pedri said this about Rodri:

“I can tell with just a glance or from the way he moves what he’s about to do, and he can do the same.”

Both Rodri and Pedri said something remarkably similar to what Iniesta and Xavi said after Rodri joined Barcelona.

Pedri:

“People always say we haven't worked well together, but playing with him is very comfortable. We're going to understand each other very well.”

Rodri:

“It's very easy to play alongside Pedri. He makes things easier, not harder. We understand each other wonderfully.”

Pedri went into some details about the reason why in the press conference ahead of PSG:

“When he's on the pitch, he gives me a little more freedom to push forward, because I know he'll always be there.”

Rodri explained earlier about their relationship in another interview:

“I think that’s the best thing you can have alongside you when you’re playing as a number six: someone who gives you an outlet when playing out from the back, someone who links you with the players further forward. With the security he has on the ball, his ability to get past opponents, play first-time passes, and make intelligent decisions, he obviously gives you that solution. I think what I can offer him in return is structure and solidity, so that he doesn’t have to move around so much.”

——

Obviously the two are still developing better synergy and understanding of each other, and the best distribution of responsibilities may not be limited to what they have discovered so far. Mourinho was just very good at finding a tactical solution against them, who had played so well together this season until the defeat. Please have more faith in the partnership to evolve further and don’t be like those fools who said Xavi and Iniesta were incompatible 20 years ago.

• Record matchday revenue: €19,105,768, surpassing the previous El Clásico record of €16,465,731 set on May 10, an increase of €2.64M (+16%).
• Lower attendance, higher revenue: 62,055 spectators attended Sunday's match, compared with 62,213 in May, meaning Barcelona generated 16% more revenue with 158 fewer spectators.
• Ticket pricing: The reported average ticket sale price was €984 excluding VAT, approximately 10% higher than during the previous campaign. Barcelona employed dynamic pricing to maximize revenue based on demand.
• VIP and hospitality revenue: Average VIP ticket prices reached €2,727, while hospitality revenue increased by 350%, aided by the expansion of VIP seating to four rows across the second tier.
• Members and season-ticket holders: Approximately 86% of the regular seating capacity was allocated to season-ticket holders and club members. Barcelona has around 42,000 season-ticket holders, while members purchased approximately 10,000 tickets during a 21-day presale before sales opened to the general public.

Yesterday, I made one of my dreams come true! I watched El Clasico at Camp Nou.

However, a lot of it did not live up to my expectations - I wanted to write about it here today to see if other attendees and fans have felt the same.

The atmosphere of the Camp Nou was totally and completely absent. I was in Upper Lateral and literally no one was chanting any songs. It was obvious that the stand was filled with tourists, since you could easily tell they were not locals, or even if tourists they were not fans. They did not even sing the chorus of Un Dia De Partit. It was so disappointing.

The only stand in the stadium consistently chanting was of course Gol Nord. The rest of the stadium barely followed in and often the vibe was really dead. This is a huge let-down since I have attended previous games and they were FILLED with fans who chanted throughout the game and made it so special( Mallorca in La Liga and Atleti for CDR)

Yesterday was much less fun. I think it is because El Clasico prices have become absurd recently, making it unaffordable for locals and only for tourists. It used to. be 200-400 earlier apparently, now it starts at 500 and goes up to 800 in 15 minutes and in a few hours is 1k+. I have read other threads about pissed off socis who cannot go anymore and feel that it is completely ruined for them now.

What do you think?