After Barcelona's 2-1 Clásico defeat to Real Madrid at the "Spotify Camp Nou" stadium, Álvaro Benito criticised Hansi Flick's defensive approach at the club. The former Real Madrid player and current analyst at the "Cadena SER" radio station focused on the risks of Barcelona's high defensive line.
Benito's criticism of the defensive setup
Benito criticised Flick's defensive approach at Barcelona and argued that pushing the line too high hands big teams repeated chances to reach Barcelona's goal. GOAL says Benito admires Flick as a coach, according to Spanish newspaper "Sport".
Benito said: "I said years ago that I love Flick as a coach, but Barcelona, against good teams who produce their usual level, will find themselves in five or five situations facing their goalkeeper."
His view of Barcelona's attack
Benito praised Barcelona's attacking style. He said Barcelona play enjoyable football and can outperform most opponents thanks to high speed and relentless pressing, particularly against sides who lack the tools to punish an advanced defence.
He also warned of risks in that style against opponents with the quality and speed to exploit the spaces behind the defence.
The Clásico as an example
Benito said the Real Madrid match exposed the danger of Barcelona's approach against players capable of exploiting the spaces, such as Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham. He added that Real Madrid had four or five chances their players should have handled better in the final pass and the attacking decision.
Praise for Real Madrid's collective discipline
Benito praised the collective discipline Real Madrid showed under José Mourinho. He said: "Everyone ran, and they had a defensive plan in which no one broke the rules."
Benito said good defensive organisation gave Real Madrid the ability to win the ball back and disrupt Barcelona, then unleash their players in attack. He also said Real Madrid found an effective way to compete with Barcelona at the Camp Nou.