One key defensive aspect of Hansi Flick’s Barcelona that Ancelotti could look to exploit – Report | OneFootball

After their crushing win over Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona will be going into the upcoming El Clasico with their guns blazing. Meanwhile, Real Madrid also had a big win over Borussia Dortmund and thus, this Clasico is expected to be a highly entertaining one.

Still, the Merengues will have more doubts coming into this game, as their season has not been as consistent as that of Barcelona, and this inconsistency was also quite clearly on display in the game against Dortmund.

In that match, Real Madrid had quite a poor first half, and went into the half-time break with a 2-0 deficit, but came back with a very different spirit as they scored five goals in the second half.

Los Blancos bring a favorable history into the upcoming match, having won the last four El Clásicos. According to Diario AS, Ancelotti could draw inspiration from one of these encounters to outmaneuver Barcelona on Saturday.

In the Spanish Super Cup final held in Riyadh last season, Real Madrid triumphed with a commanding 4-1 victory, establishing a two-goal lead within the first ten minutes. Both goals came from a Barcelona defense caught high up the pitch, allowing Vinícius Júnior to exploit the situation with his exceptional speed.

This season, FC Barcelona are once again playing with a very high defensive line under the guidance of Hansi Flick, and Ancelotti is again counting on his pacy forwards, Vinicius and Mbappe in particular, to get him the required result.

Flick has already made it clear that he can adapt to a different approach, keeping in view the opponents’ style, but it is still highly unlikely that he will change his plan for the upcoming El Clasico.

He will be particularly encouraged by the fact that his team has left its opponents in an offside position more than any other in the five major European leagues, doing so 65 times. However, it remains to be seen whether his offside trap will be effective against the pace and lethal attack of Real Madrid.