Hansie Flick has prepared a tactical plan to stop Kylian Mbppen in Sunday’s El Classico on October 25th, aiming to restore one of the weapons that caused major French attackers in the past: the high defanzie line and the trap of off-spot.
Barcelona hosts Real Madrid at an important time of the season. The Catalans have recorded nine victories in the first nine matches and have collected 27 points, while the Madrillians have 21 points.
A victory would give Barcelona an opportunity to deepen his preeminence to nine points over a straight rival, making El Classico even more important in the title race.
The trap that stopped Mbppen in 2024
The President that Flick wants to repeat it from October 2024, when Barcelona triumphed 4-0 over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabau.
In that confrontation, Mbppe was taken eight times out of the game, having extremely difficult to penetrate after Catalan defense. The co-ordination of Pau Chubars and Inigo Martinez played an important role in the operation of this system.
Barcelona held the defanzi line high and forced the opponent to adapt to limited spaces, while many of the dangerous shares of the Madrillians ended up cancelled for offline positions.
Cubars and Gerard Martin, responsible for implementing the plan
This time around, Flick aims to apply the same tactical idea with another pair at the centre of defence. Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin are candidates to coordinate the high line and control Mbappas’s insights.
However, implementation of this plan requires maximum concentration. The French assailant’s speed can turn any mistake into a dangerous case for Real Madrid.
Flick stressed that the key to stopping Mbupen is for Barcelona to stay compact and pressure the player who owns the ball. Without pressure on followers, advanced defense can leave space that the Frenchman can exploit. /Telegraph/