Emergency meeting called at Barcelona: “We were handed a big lesson”

The aftershocks from Barcelona’s 4-0 defeat at the hands of Atlético Madrid were felt on Friday morning. Head coach Hansi Flick held an emergency meeting at the training ground, leading to a frank exchange of views between coach and players.

The Athletic reports that Flick questioned the players’ attitude and intensity during the first half of Thursday’s Copa del Rey semi-final first leg. In response the players expressed concern with the team’s tactics, particularly with Flick’s famed high defensive line.

Those exchanges were described as “lively” and it appears that the coaching staff and players are becoming split on the team’s direction. Atleti blitzed through a vulnerable Barcelona in the first half, scoring four unanswered goals against the current LaLiga leaders.

“In the first 45 minutes we were handed a big lesson. Sometimes it’s good to get [that feeling] in the right moment, maybe today is the right moment,” Flick said after the game. “The second half was much better and we have one game more and we will fight [to win] that.”

It was not the first time that Barcelona’s high line and high-pressing style have been exposed this season. Back in November Barça‘s back line was easily bypassed in a 3-3 draw with Club Brugge in the Champions League. A 4-1 loss to Sevilla in LaLiga showed the same weaknesses.

With Real Madrid starting to find form under Alvaro Arbeloa, and with the Champions League round-of-16 on the horizon, the pressure is on Hansi Flick to find a solution. On Thursday the absences of Pedri and Raphinha - two of the team’s hardest-working players - were certainly keenly felt. But there is a growing sense that Barcelona’s frailties go beyond personnel issues.

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