Barcelona lead Europe in offsides forced – with 100 more than second-placed Tottenham | OneFootball

The current FC Barcelona team being managed by Hansi Flick is quite distinct from the one that took to the pitch under Xavi Hernandez. The German coach has brought some very marked changes in the Catalan team’s approach to the game.

This is the case in both offensive and defensive aspects of play, and in the latter category, one tactic whose usage stands out for Flick is the offside trap.

The Blaugranes have been executing this tactic with an amazing level of effectiveness since the start of the season.

This is particularly observable from a report from Mundo Deportivo, which reports that Barcelona have left their opponents whistled for offside 201 times in total in 36 games, which is 100 more than the second-placed team in this ranking, i.e., Tottenham Hotspur, whose opponents have been caught offside 101 times.

The top five teams in this ranking are as follows:

In the 36 matches the Catalans have played this season, there was only 1 game in which their opponents were not whistled for offside even once. This was the La Liga game against Real Betis, which ended in a 2-2 draw at the Benito Villamarin.

While the usage of this tactic has allowed FC Barcelona to reap the benefits of their highline without paying too costly a price, the dangers of this tactic have also made themselves obvious this season.

For instance, only in the last game against Sevilla, Saul Niguez took advantage of the inability of Ronald Araujo to keep in line with the rest of the defenders, as he sent a ball for Eduardo Vargas to latch on and score the equaliser at 1-1. Fortunately, this mistake did not end up costing the Blaugranes any points on the night.