FC Barcelona broke its bad streak in La Liga. She did not win the three previous meetings. At the break, the match was tied 1-1 with Real Mallorca. She came out of the second half changed and deadly effective. The defense also functioned well, catching the opponent's attackers offside as many as 11 times.
Barcelona coach outraged at the work of referees
The hallmark of Barcelona under Hansi Flick's leadership is a well-organized defense line that regularly catches opponents in an offside position, especially when positioned high. This is often done without the need for additional communication. The players are attentive and focused on guarding their own line and the opponent's position.
Just remember El Clasico. Then Real Madrid burned its shares as many as 12 times. There were a similar number of offsides against Real Mallorca.
However, referees often decide to whistle offsides with a delay – either when the ball reaches the intended recipient or a few seconds later. Such situations occurred in Tuesday's La Liga match. This did not sit well with Flick, who became angry with the referees several times because of their approach. The German believes that the offside should be signaled immediately. Otherwise, competitors will unnecessarily use up their strength on an additional short sprint behind their rival.
– I don't understand situations in which the offside is five meters and the referees don't stop the game. My players have to run backwards and lose strength, and that makes no sense, he said at the post-match press conference. From the beginning of his work at Barcelona, Flick has been a critic of the rule regarding waiting for an offside call.
The German also added that he has no objection to playing the game when there is a controversial situation, because everything can be clarified by VAR.
FC Barcelona leads La Liga and is third in the Champions League.