Jindřich Trpišovský spoke at a press conference after the match. https://www.slavia.cz/article/23843
It's very clear that Barça still have several weak aerial man-markers, visible in the mismatch vs Balde and Koundé.
Adding height is one fix, tactical fixes are necessary :coaching zonal defenders to stand firm, adding a third zonal player, or simply reassigning who marks whom.
Aside from the screen, this angle shows Kounde bumping into Pedri in his way and wasn't able to track his runner.
The ball reached the same zone, nearly bypassing Raphinha and the attacker, but Lewandowski misjudged it and scored an own goal off his shoulder.
Similar pattern again led to the 2nd goal.
Eric Garcia kept his man away from the GK this time. The opponent targeted the same zone but changed the runner.
To lose the marker, a simple legal screen: the green player blocks Koundé’s path, freeing the white runner to attack the target area.
Sparta's plan was clear: position the target man (white) on the blind side of Barça’s two zonal defenders, then shove the marker and explode into the space from Raphinha’s blind side.
In the end, he won the first contact and flicked the ball into the path of attackers at the second post. Goal
Sparta Prague attacked Barça’s corner setup intelligently. With 6 attackers vs 6 man-markers, the space behind the zonal line is usually the GK’s zone.
Anticipating Joan's strong ball-claiming, one dragged Eric Garcia and curved his run to block the keeper’s exit, arriving first by design.
Set-pieces are another issue Hansi Flick must address urgently. Yesterday, we defended using a hybrid man-marking scheme :
Raphinha and Lewa as zonal defenders (yellow) while a nearby outlet, Roony (red), ready for short corners and Fermin (green) acted as the rebound defender.
Depuis plus de 20 ans, le football tunisien prétend corriger les mêmes problèmes.
Changer d’entraîneur. Pointer du doigt les joueurs. Chercher des raccourcis. Et pourtant, rien ne s’améliore parce que le véritable problème n’est jamais posé. substack.com/@saif4tfp/no...
For more than 20 years, Tunisian football has been “fixing” the same problems.
Changing coaches. Blaming players. Chasing shortcuts.
And yet nothing improves, because the real problem is never addressed.
I put everything together in a long-form. substack.com/@saif4tfp/no...
That turnover from Olmo.
Pedri plays a layoff to FDJ then angles his run smartly into the left half-space. Meanwhile, Olmo drops to link play but misses a crucial second scan before receiving the ball.
The geometry was perfect: a quick 3rd man combo would release Pedri behind Inter's mid.
4
3
The buildup to Lamine's goal.
Leading Barça’s attack, Ferran Torres played a crucial role, frequently positioning himself behind the n 10s Raphinha and Dani Olmo to manipulate Inter’s back three.
His smart positioning and well-timed runs were instrumental, eventually leading to the second goal. Videos 👇
Any Barça fans in Los Angeles ?
#BlaugranaSky 🔵🔴☁️
Barca's biggest edge vs Benfica was the superiority during build-up play.
They used a 4-3-3 setup with CBs Araujo and Inigo spreading wide, FBs Balde and Kounde supporting nearby, and 3 midfielders moving flexibly. Often, FDJ and Pedri dropped as double pivots while Olmo floated between the lines.
Araujo hesitates to keep chasing Schjelderu
Even though Inigo manages to intercept, Benfica has clearly shown how to take advantage of Barca. Crossing from those areas—behind the backline and with space from the keeper—is tough to defend against.
End of thread.
This pulls Kounde inside, leaving the left flank open for a late run. Yamal should either track the runner or Kounde should hand him off to a teammate.
Kounde steps up to press Dahl, the left-back, who then finds Schjelderup—now free after creating separation from Araujo.
In this sequence, we see Kounde and Lamine as they track Benfica's left winger and left-back.
As Benfica moves forward in their 4-3-3, left-back Dahl pushes up while winger Schjelderup cuts inside.
To beat Barca's high defensive line, opponents often use clever wide plays. Benfica's coach had the winger and fullback work together to exploit gaps.
Barca typically defends in a 4-1-4-1 shape, staying compact and zonal in the middle third.
Like in so many games,many other games, diagonal passes remain vital to Barcelona's buildup play.
The front three kept Benfica's defense busy, leaving tons of space between the lines.
Benfica tried pressing high with a -1 to keep a +1 at the back, but sacrificing Kökçü left holes. Olmo exploited, finding space to receive the ball.
Barca's biggest edge vs Benfica was the superiority during build-up play.
They used a 4-3-3 setup with CBs Araujo and Inigo spreading wide, FBs Balde and Kounde supporting nearby, and 3 midfielders moving flexibly. Often, FDJ and Pedri dropped as double pivots while Olmo floated between the lines.
“In the second 45 minutes we saw a different Juve. They became more aggressive, courageous, dynamic, and determined."
Said Capello in his interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
What did Juve change in the second half to win the derby?
🧵
How Rayo Vallecano unmasked Barcelona’s def flaws 🧵🎥
Rayo opted for a m2m press in midfield while keeping a +1 in defense with Isi and Nteka targeting the CBs.
However, Barcelona exploited the opposite flank by switching the ball to Balde, creating a 2v1 advantage with lot of space to advance.
Thanks for reading.
To access the full article :
open.substack.com/pub/thefarpo...
Takeaways :
La Liga continues to be highly competitive, with the title race still wide open. However, Flick's team has shown weaknesses in games against seemingly easier opponents, indicating a need to improve their high-pressing system and enhance their overall defensive organization.
As a result, space opened up for Ratiu, as he made a well-timed, unmarked run into Balde’s blind side, attacking the gap with a parallel run.
Simultaneously, substitute Embarba rushed behind Cubarsí to exploit the overload, but the opportunity was thwarted when Cubarsí intercepted the FB's cross.
By the 80th minute, Rayo Vallecano executed the same key pattern, one that had been repeated multiple times throughout the match.
Full-back Ratiu drifted inward, positioning himself centrally, while De Frutos dropped deep into midfield, drawing Balde out of position.
