With 146 goals in 49 matches, Barcelona has been brilliant in attack, but Flick has emphasized from day one that without maximum commitment in defensive work, success and winning trophies are impossible. He believes that professional and organized defense is the key to achieving big goals. This vision has gradually been institutionalized in the team in 2025, and players have adhered more seriously to their defensive duties.

At the beginning of the season, Flick was concerned about the team’s defensive coordination. Issues such as offside timing, pressing in specific situations, and managing the final minutes of matches needed improvement. The team’s poor performance in November and December in La Liga confirmed these concerns and showed that for the title, Barça needed more solidity.

Flick worked seriously on these weaknesses at the start of the new year. He spent hours correcting mistakes and even held individual sessions with players. The results of these efforts gradually became clear: Barcelona has kept a clean sheet in 10 of their last 16 matches, a clear sign of progress in defensive mechanisms and player commitment.

One of the turning points in this transformation was the match against Benfica at Daloz. Barça played with 10 men from the 22nd minute but secured a victory with a display full of commitment and effort. This match awakened the team’s defensive spirit and made the players more interested in the value of defensive work. In subsequent matches, such as the game against Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano or against Dortmund, players like Araujo, Ferran Torres, and Raphinha showed with key defensive actions that the team no longer relies solely on attack. Even in the hard-fought victory against Leganés, the defensive moves of Iñigo Martínez and Raphinha played a decisive role.

Flick has taught his players that attacking quality is not enough without defensive effort. Pedri, for example, is a player who, despite his attacking talent, puts in maximum effort in defensive work. Flick’s philosophy is simple: if everyone helps in defense, the team’s attacking talent will determine the result in 90% of matches. Now, with only 12 games left until the end of the season, Barcelona is displaying a perfect combination of devastating attack and solid defense. Flick’s experience at Bayern Munich, where he won the Champions League conceding only 4 goals in 8 matches, shows that he is a master at building balanced teams. This Barça is now ready to rely on this balance and make a push for trophies.