If Flick makes Barcelona more "boring", the team may be more invincible

In the early morning of May 16, Barcelona defeated the city-wide powerhouse Espanyol with a 2-0 victory, and locked in the 2024/25 La Liga championship two rounds ahead of schedule. This victory fully demonstrates Barcelona's practicality and stability on the defensive end.

Barcelona experienced the most dramatic, unpredictable and exciting 15 days in club history, during which four top-notch matches were held, including the Copa del Rey final, two Champions League semi-finals and countless exciting moments. These competitions were staged in Seville, Barcelona and Milan, attracting the attention of hundreds of millions of viewers around the world. The rise of young geniuses and the team's brilliant achievements in winning the King's Cup and La Liga double championships are undoubtedly the most eye-catching chapters during this period.

However, head coach Flick doesn't seem to be satisfied with this "explosive" offensive style. He tends to put pragmatism first and strives to forge Barcelona into an invincible war machine.

Since taking over the team last summer, Flick has not completely agreed with the game style that neutral fans talk about. He admitted: "You will judge whether we are the most interesting team in Europe. For me, not every game must be full of fun."

"Sometimes I am under tremendous pressure. This season is not over, but we have to make significant improvements in defense. The coaching staff, the players and I are well aware of the importance of doing a good job of defense. Not just the back line, the entire team needs to be more stable. We make mistakes, but we have to learn from it and keep improving." Flick said after the 35th round of victory over Real Madrid, promising: "Next season will be different."

In less than three days, Flick's remarks were confirmed. In the game against Espanyol, Barcelona showed great practicality, and finally secured the La Liga championship in advance with its stable defense, excellent ball control and accurate grasp of the forward line.

Practicism and Future Outlook

If this Catalan team can continue to play this way in the coming season, then they will undoubtedly become strong enemies that no opponent wants to encounter. Flick once criticized Barcelona players for attacking blindly like "a puppy chasing the ball" when they should have controlled the rhythm and maintained their advantage at the end of the game. He hoped that the team could play more decisively.

This season, Barcelona fell behind two goals in six games, including against Benfica, Atletico Madrid (two times), Real Madrid, Celta Vigo and Inter Milan, and eventually achieved a reverse victory or a difficult draw.

Despite showing strong mental power, Flick still hopes that Barcelona can avoid this dangerous situation. Looking back at the game against Celta, after the team led 2-0 but was tied, he commented: "This team is still very young and the players need to be more cautious. When we have the advantage of the numbers, we need to defend better, control the ball, and hold our advantage."

For neutral fans, it may feel a little "boring", but for Barcelona fans, it is exciting. Flick hopes to reduce that thrilling big reversal scene. If he succeeds in turning Barcelona into a disciplined and unbridgeable team, it will be a key condition for them to become an invincible division next season. By then, perhaps no opponent can stop Barcelona from moving forward.