After a period of winning and celebrating, it’s time for them to take a hard look at what they’re not doing well. If coach Hans Flicke doesn’t address these issues soon, they could cause big trouble next season.
Although Lamine Yamal played well, the Barcelona players looked increasingly tired towards the end of the season and didn’t play as well as before. Against strong teams like Inter Milan and Real Madrid, their lack of fitness was especially apparent.
In the last six games, Barcelona conceded 13 goals. This shows that they have problems in defense. Why is this happening? At different stages of the game, they failed to maintain the same level of pressure they had before. This led to frequent mistakes that they then had to work hard to correct.
One reason for their fatigue is Flick’s training style and tactical philosophy. The German coach demands a lot from his players, expecting them to maintain high-intensity training and strict discipline at all times. Barcelona performs best when they play only one game a week. For example, on January 7, 2025, they beat Valencia 7-1.
However, Barcelona’s game schedule has been too intense over the last three weeks. They have been playing every three days, which is physically taxing on the players. This was evident in Barcelona’s inability to catch up with their opponents in the final moments of their Champions League semifinal loss to Inter. Even in their 4-3 win over Real Madrid in the national derby, Flick’s high-pressure style of play seemed unattainable at times.
In addition to this style of play, Flick relies on a few core players. This is actually risky. For instance, Pedri played in all 72 games in the 2020–21 season, which resulted in frequent injuries and a significant loss of stamina in subsequent seasons.
This season, Pedri has made 65 appearances (57 with Barcelona and eight with the Spanish national team). He has played the most minutes of any player on the team, totaling 4,520. Meanwhile, Yamal has made about the same number of appearances, with 61. Right back Jules Koundé, who has made 63 appearances, is considered a very physical player but has also recently been injured from being too tired.
The problem is that Flick demands too much from his players. That’s why he only trusts about 13 or 14 starters. Players like Yamal, Pedri, Rafinha, Xavi, Conde, Lewandowski, and Iñigo Martínez are almost irreplaceable. They have been playing continuously with little to no rest. Once someone gets injured, the whole team falls apart. For example, in the second leg against Inter, Barcelona was missing two important wingbacks, Conde and Balde, which made offense very difficult.
Overall, Barcelona’s current starting lineup is one of the strongest in Europe. However, the bench is nowhere near as good as the starters, and there are concerns about their health. Lewandowski is getting older, Pedri’s injury concerns persist, and 17-year-old Yamal can’t continue playing at this level.
Therefore, Flick must strengthen the squad overall this summer. He can either bring in more capable players to increase rotation options or develop a more reasonable plan for using players to avoid overworking the starters.
Otherwise, a young, promising player like Yamal could suffer an early injury that affects his career, as Pedri did a few years ago. If this happens, Barcelona’s rebuilding efforts, which are just beginning, could be interrupted as well.
