{"id":78482,"date":"2025-10-09T15:27:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T05:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/?p=78482"},"modified":"2025-10-09T15:27:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T05:27:15","slug":"has-barcelonas-high-line-been-exposed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/2025\/10\/has-barcelonas-high-line-been-exposed\/","title":{"rendered":"Has Barcelona&#8217;s High Line Been Exposed?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Yes. It seems to have been exposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s hard to believe that little over a year ago, with Barcelona\u2019s new era under Hansi Flick beginning with a bang, that football fans across the world thought the Catalans and their offside trap were lunatics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Real Madrid had just signed Kylian Mbappe, one of the fastest forwards in world football, and added him alongside the already rapid Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Everybody expected them to feast on Barcelona, but what followed was one of the most dominant sweeps in El Cl\u00e1sico history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Barcelona have been \ud835\udde5\ud835\udde8\ud835\udde7\ud835\udddb\ud835\udddf\ud835\uddd8\ud835\udde6\ud835\udde6 in El Cl\u00e1sicos this season: 16 goals in 4 games \ud83d\ude35\u200d\ud83d\udcab\ud83d\ude28 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/k3BYq2tQUT\">pic.twitter.com\/k3BYq2tQUT<\/a><\/p>&mdash; 433 (@433) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/433\/status\/1921612670995718477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 11, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Barcelona went on to win all four Clasicos in the 2024\/25 season, defeating Los Blancos by an aggregate score of 16-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In their first meeting, with all eyes on Mbappe, Barcelona\u2019s high line prevailed, and Real Madrid were called offside 12 times in a brutal 4-0 defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They went on to lose 5-2 in the Supercopa De Espa\u00f1a Final, lose 4-3 in extra time in the Copa Del Rey Final, and lose 3-2 in a must-win game that effectively handed Barca the La Liga title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the UEFA Champions League, FC Barcelona and their brilliant offside trap finally defeated the demons of Bayern Munich that had haunted them since their 8-2 humiliation in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A 4-1 victory spearheaded by a Raphina hattrick saw them defeat Bayern for the first time since 2015, and they made it all the way to the semi-finals before an incredible 7-6 aggregate defeat against Inter Milan ended their campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BARCELONA FINALLY GET THEIR REVENGE OVER BAYERN MUNICH IN A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUT \ud83e\udd2f<br><br>THIS TEAM IS SOMETHING ELSE \ud83d\udc4f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mGptEYslYc\">pic.twitter.com\/mGptEYslYc<\/a><\/p>&mdash; ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNFC\/status\/1849192461395984718?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 23, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, at the conclusion of the 2024\/25 campaign, it looked like the entire world was wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Barcelona\u2019s high line, while very occasionally exploited, more than held up, and the Catalan giants ended one of the most dominant and successful seasons in the last ten years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, after a shocking start to October, it seems that Flick&#8217;s offside trap may finally have been outfoxed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite winning six of their opening seven La Liga games (drawing the other) and commencing their UCL charge with a strong 2-1 victory away against Newcastle United, Barcelona have struggled to demonstrate the same intensity that set them apart last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in October, it\u2019s all come crashing down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I for (4) one (1) would hate to be Barcelona fan right now \ud83d\ude09<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SevillaBar%C3%A7a?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SevillaBar\u00e7a<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IBMv7Jb80s\">pic.twitter.com\/IBMv7Jb80s<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SevillaFC_ENG\/status\/1974883814745997612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 5, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Facing an injury-plagued PSG side, the Blaugrana, who are also facing several key injuries, were defeated 2-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They took the lead, played beautifully for most of the first half, and then were completely railroaded by the UCL Champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Heading into the 90th minute, Barcelona conceded what is now becoming a routine goal against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early cross into the centre from out wide, and a striker in the centre to finish at close range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many opponents have now begun to ignore Barcelona\u2019s offside line altogether, opting to leave their nine in an offside position, waiting for a cutback after the ball is played wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is also how Barca lost to PSG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">How To Beat the Barcelona Offside Trap<br><br>\ud83d\udfe2 Center forward intentionally stays offside as the team builds attack<br><br>\ud83d\udfe2 Switch play from side-to-side to disguise the intent <br><br>\ud83d\udfe2 Once the ball is closer to the Bar\u00e7a goal, center forward holds his run so that he&#39;s behind the ball<br><br>\ud83d\udfe2\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/q1RIlEmSqV\">https:\/\/t.co\/q1RIlEmSqV<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hznquWCbH6\">pic.twitter.com\/hznquWCbH6<\/a><\/p>&mdash; ChrisBest Oguguo (@chrisoguguoo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisoguguoo\/status\/1973658961963315418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And how Sevilla completely decimated them in La Liga last weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a total shock for the La Liga Champions, who hadn\u2019t lost to Sevilla in 10 years heading into this fixture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But a harrowing warning that Europe\u2019s finest might have the Catalans figured out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s not to say that Barcelona\u2019s high line has been made redundant overnight. They have proven again and again that their advanced style of play can be lethal. But it required perfection to be successful on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Countless times over the last year, Barcelona have seen goals against them ruled out for offside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the time, their defence wouldn\u2019t even react, because they knew the play was offside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such was their trust in each other and their surgical precision when executing the offside trap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83e\udd14 | Trouble brewing?<br><br>\u2022 First LaLiga defeat by a three-goal margin in more than 10 years (since 4\u20131 v Celta Vigo on 23 Sep 2015)<br>\u2022 First defeat by a three-goal margin in any match under Hansi Flick<br>\u2022 Consecutive defeats for the first time since December<br>\u2022 Joint-third most\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CoSjwPr672\">pic.twitter.com\/CoSjwPr672<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Sofascore Football (@SofascoreINT) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SofascoreINT\/status\/1974877288740397369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 5, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a measure of their defensive discipline that they have caught opposition players offside 223 times since the beginning of last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And they are already on track to beat that record with 42 offsides provoked this season so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With their focus on possession and intense, attacking football, the high line allows them to counter-press their opponents efficiently, winning possession high and causing constant danger in the final third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The issue now is that opponents are beginning to bypass the Barcelona press, catching them exposed and finding space to attack in transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the Blaugrana midfield pivotal in the success of Flick\u2019s style, teams have begun directly man-marking Pedri and De Jong, preventing them from having an impact on the state of play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By preventing Barcelona\u2019s creative players from dictating the tempo, opponents are able to win possession, release the ball out wide to beat the press, and target their offside striker while the Catalan defence are scrambling to recover their positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tonight was Sevilla\u2019s biggest win over Barcelona since 1951 (0-4). <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kXp09KgCm7\">pic.twitter.com\/kXp09KgCm7<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pubitysport\/status\/1974886897572045273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 5, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>So, has Barcelona\u2019s high line been exposed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes. Its fatal flaw seems to have been revealed, but that doesn\u2019t mean that it no longer works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back-to-back losses are a shock for the La Liga Champions, but those defeats weren\u2019t purely down to their high line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a risky tactic, but it\u2019s not going anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Long live the Barcelona high line!<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes. It seems to have been exposed. It\u2019s hard to believe that little over a year ago, with Barcelona\u2019s new era under Hansi Flick beginning with a bang, that football fans across the world thought the Catalans and their offside trap were lunatics. Real Madrid had just signed Kylian Mbappe, one of the fastest forwards in world football, and added him alongside the already rapid Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo. Everybody expected them to feast on Barcelona, but what followed was one of the most dominant sweeps in El Cl\u00e1sico history. Barcelona have been \ud835\udde5\ud835\udde8\ud835\udde7\ud835\udddb\ud835\udddf\ud835\uddd8\ud835\udde6\ud835\udde6 in El Cl\u00e1sicos this season: 16&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":78483,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9440,8,598,344],"tags":[173],"hub_post_cat":[],"class_list":["post-78482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football-unpopular-opinions","category-soccer","category-special-interest","category-sports","tag-football"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":"","md_tip_date_end":"","md_market_url":"","tip_date":"09\/10\/2025","event_country":"Australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78482"},{"taxonomy":"hub_post_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub_post_cat?post=78482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}