Inside Hansi Flick’s struggles in finding the right balance in Barcelona defence this season

Inside Hansi Flick’s struggles in finding the right balance in Barcelona defence this season Barcelona were able to maintain their healthy lead at the top of the table with a narrow 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday. But it was yet again a shoddy defensive performance from a team that has been repeatedly bogged down by a porous backline this season. It was no difference against Atletico Madrid, with the team conceding an early goal through Giuliano Simeone. In light of another clean sheet lost, a recent report from Mundo Deportivo has highlighted the struggles Hansi Flick has had with the defence this season. Barcelona yet to find balance Injuries have been a real issue for the Barcelona defence. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images) The report particularly highlights the numbers that prove that Barcelona simply haven’t found the right balance in the backline this season. Across 16 competitive matches so far – 12 in La Liga and four in Champions League – Flick has been forced to field as many as 12 different defensive combinations. This is indicative of how Barcelona have struggled with injuries, dips in form as well as tactical tweaks from Flick himself that have cost the team balance and solidity. In total, nine different players have been called upon to make up the backline. The list includes midfielder Frenkie de Jong as well as regular defenders such as Pau Cubarsi, Jules Kounde, Xavi Espart, Brian Farinas, Andreas Christensen, and Pau Cubarsi, among others. A worrying lack of continuity Flick needs to find an answer to the club’s defensive problems. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) Perhaps the biggest worry for Barcelona has been Flick’s inability to find a stable backline. The closest thing to a regular backline, a unit of Eric, Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, and Espart, has started together just three times, against Athletic, Valencia, and Levante. Beyond that, no combination has featured more than twice. The only times Flick has named an unchanged defence in back-to-back games came in the losses to PSG and Real Madrid, the team’s only two defeats of the season, and in the recent wins over Aston Villa and Atletico. Simply put, all the brilliance of Barcelona’s free-scoring attack, this defensive instability remains their glaring weakness. Flick needs to rapidly find a solution to this problem heading into the January transfer window, if Barcelona are to avoid seeing their season crumble during the second half of the campaign.