Surprised results today as Barcelona lost at home 2:3 against Villarreal Barcelona already had this game in control in their hand as they where in full control of the game in the first half as the first half ended in a 2:1 victory in favour of Barcelona but going into the second half Villarreal has to stage a comeback i think that Barcelona got relaxed thinking that the game was over in the first half
Barcelona's comeback in the first half made Villarreal look like they wanted to make the result favorable for them and they managed to do just that by making a comeback in the second half with 2 goals.
Barcelona's attacking determination is very good and it's not like we need to doubt that because Barcelona always do well like this in almost all matches but they are too focused on attacking but forget about the defensive areas that are a little empty.
Villarreal are quite capable of seeing the momentum in this match, they just like waiting for Barcelona to make a mistake and make this an opportunity with a quick counterattack where the direct pass is a mainstay of Villarreal quite successfully making Barcelona lose their points in today's match.
But even so, defeat is not a real problem for now because they have confirmed themselves as champions so regardless of the actual results Flick in this remaining match just wants to maintain performance and try schemes with some of their young players.
Barcelona’s high-press, all-gas-no-brakes mentality under Flick is fun, but let’s be honest, the defensive lapses aren’t just a “rest-the-starters” problem. You saw it last season when they tried to chase too many games from behind. Villarreal’s second-half response was awesome; it’s how you beat a team that plays on the front foot but leaves their own box half-vacant
If Barca want to dominate Europe again, it’s got to be about more than “attack, attack, attack”. At some point, those direct passes and fast breaks will get punished by bigger fish than Villarreal. Flick probably knows it. He’s just using these games as a lab for the next-gen midfielders and fullbacks, throwing them into the deep end
You can almost see a new pattern in La Liga: Big teams rotate hard after clinching the title, young guns get their minutes, and opponents sniff out points. Expect more crazy comebacks in these end-of-season “trial matches”