Report highlights the paradoxical relationship of Hansi Flick’s Barcelona with ball possession | OneFootball

The arrival of Hansi Flick on the FC Barcelona bench is already proving to be the best decision the Catalans could have made following the departure of Xavi Hernandez.

The German coach has already led the Blaugranes to La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Spanish Super Cup glory, and has also made the team one of the most entertaining and fearsome groups in European football.

Direct football with high ball possession

Meanwhile, Flick has also brought some very notable changes in the way the Barcelona team approaches its football on the pitch, and in this regard, Mundo Deportivo has highlighted a highly paradoxical relationship of the Blaugrana team with ball possession this season.

Somewhat diverging from the traditional playing style of the Catalan team, Flick’s team has displayed a clear propensity to play direct football. However, they have also not given up on ball possession.

In fact, of the 59 matches the Blaugranes played this season, Barcelona turned out to have more possession in 56.

How Barcelona fared with ball possession?

In 2 of the only 3 matches in which the opposition beat the Catalans in possession, Flick’s team had to play a significant part of the game with one man less, as Eric Garcia was sent off in the UCL game against Monaco, and Pau Cubarsi was sent off in the game against Benfica in Round of 16.

Thus, the only match in which Barcelona had less possession than their opponents despite having 11 players on the pitch was the UCL League Phase match against Bayern Munich, in which the Bavarians enjoyed 61% of the ball, to the Catalans’ 39%. However, the match still ended 4-1 in the Blaugranes’ favor, as Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha killed off the Germans on the counter.

Barcelona star Lamine Yamal playing against Bayern Munich. [Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images]

The team’s paradox with possession comes into an even more marked view when one considers the game in which they enjoyed the highest amount of ball possession this season. This happened in the game against Leganes, when Barcelona had the ball for 80% of the time.

However, Leganes won that match 0-1, as they scored in the second minute and then parked the bus to keep the Blaugranes from scoring.

These statistics and instances not only go on to show the unpredictable nature of football, but also highlight the complicated and paradoxical relationship of Hansi Flick’s Barcelona team with ball possession.