Barca out of sync after El Clasico: Hansi Flick and the Yamal problem
Barca lost 3/5 recent matches, lost 1-2 at Bernabeu; Hansi Flick was banned from coaching and revealed tension; Lamine Yamal is a hot spot for discipline and tactics
Barca have been out of sync at the start of the season: losing three of their last five games, including a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. From the stands, suspended from the touchline, Hansi Flick watched as his team lost their signature pressing, while Lamine Yamal became the focal point of both tactics and the dressing room.
Bernabeu: tense moment
The weekend at the Bernabeu was set beyond the 90 minutes of football. Joan Laporta was in the stands as his alliance with Florentino Perez and the Super League project unravelled. On the pitch, Yamal was being shouted at by Vinicius, Dani Carvajal and Thibaut Courtois, while Flick watched from the technical area while serving a touchline ban.
El Clasico ended 2-1 for Real Madrid. According to the recorded developments, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe scored, while Yamal was dim and got into a collision. That was the opposite image of himself last season.
Tactics: Pressing out of rhythm after 13 matches
Johan Cruyff once said: the second season is always the most difficult. After 13 matches this season, Flick’s Barca has not “run” smoothly despite no major changes in personnel. The focus still revolves around Yamal, but the pressing – escaping pressing structure is no longer synchronized.
Before El Clasico, Flick devoted the entire training session to pressing and escaping pressing. However, in the match, Barca's performance broke down at decisive points. Last season, even when they were behind after the 80th minute, Barca still instilled confidence in their ability to come back. This season, the paradox appeared: they were more vulnerable, and the feeling of "only losing" gradually crept into the stands.
Locker room: discipline and the fine line with Yamal
The most serious problem was Lamine Yamal. The coaching staff felt the young player was “flying” too high, sometimes ignoring internal rules. Flick accepted that the psychological management could be handled by others, but he was dissatisfied with the club’s overprotectiveness. The public reminder – “Yamal needs to focus and work harder” – was both a message and a disciplinary boundary.
Flick is concerned that if he loses control of the dressing room, Barca will not be able to restore the fighting spirit that helped them maintain intensity and discipline last season. That concern is more evident after a series of 3 defeats in the last 5 matches against Real Madrid, Sevilla and PSG.
Pressure from many sides: national team, referee, internal club
In recent days, Flick has been embroiled in a dispute with the Spanish Football Federation and coach Luis de la Fuente over the fact that an 18-year-old player was forced to play a “meaningless” match in Türkiye. A source in Barcelona said that for Flick – who was the head coach of the German national team – this was “unacceptable”. On the contrary, Yamal wanted to play to win against Arda Guler and did not complain about his physical condition.
Flick has also expressed dissatisfaction with refereeing in La Liga, saying that Champions League referees communicate more clearly. But Barca did benefit from a VAR glitch against Rayo Vallecano – a reminder that the line between unfairness and technological error is thin.
The club’s internal affairs further complicated matters: chaos in the summer registration, delays in the return to Camp Nou (having to play on the training ground and then hire Montjuic), and conflicts between the medical and rehabilitation departments. In one case, a player was called up to the match list and then sat on the bench for the entire match just to reconcile the conflict, because no one dared to confirm his readiness.
Hansi Flick's stress and the way out
From the Joan Gamper center, sources confirmed: “He is completely fine, loves the club and the city.” Flick himself explained his outburst in Girona after Araujo’s late goal because he “loves the club.” But those who know him call it a way to hide his stress: Flick is trying to blend into the group to hide his insecurities.
On the media front, Yamal is still celebrated – he is included in the 26-man shortlist for the 2024/25 Team of the Year, voted for by the players – while Vinicius is not. But on the pitch, Yamal’s growth must come from discipline and the collective. For Barca, the way out is not in the headlines, but in the speed with which they restore a pressing structure and an orderly dressing room.
Last season showed Flick could create a Barca explosion. This season requires him to do the harder thing: regulate emotions, tighten discipline, and get Yamal back on track – so that the Bernabeu game becomes a wake-up call, not the culmination of a season in decline.