According to "Varzesh 3", Alvaro Benito, former Real Madrid player and current pundit for Cadena SER radio network, criticized Hansi Flick's defensive approach at Barcelona. He believes that pushing the defensive line too high repeatedly gives big teams the opportunity to approach the Catalan team's goal, a weakness that became evident in Barcelona's 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in El Clasico at the Spotify Camp Nou.

As written by the Spanish newspaper Sport, Benito holds Flick in high regard as a coach, but warned about the risks of this style against opponents who possess the quality and speed necessary to exploit the spaces behind the defensive line. The Spanish pundit said: "I said years ago as well that I like Flick as a coach, but against good teams playing at their usual level, Barcelona will find themselves five or six times in situations where the opponent's forwards are one-on-one with their goalkeeper."

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He added that top-level teams take advantage of these empty spaces, emphasizing that the German coach still takes excessive risks in certain tactical aspects. Despite these criticisms, Benito praised Barcelona's attacking style. He acknowledged that the team plays entertaining football and, thanks to high playing speed and relentless pressing, can overcome most opponents, especially against teams lacking the tools to punish a high defensive line.

The match against Real Madrid told a different story. In his view, this fixture highlighted the dangers of such an approach whenever Barcelona faces players capable of exploiting open spaces, such as Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham. He explained that Real Madrid had four or five chances where their players could have made better use of the final pass and decision-making in the attacking phase. In his opinion, the Madrid side could have dealt a much heavier blow to their opponent.

Benito also praised Real Madrid's group discipline under Jose Mourinho, confirming that the team's success did not stem from the attack, but rather was rooted in the players' defensive commitment. He said: "Everyone ran, and they had a defensive plan where no one stepped outside the designated framework." He explained that proper defensive organization allowed Real Madrid to win back the ball, disrupt Barcelona's play, and then utilize their players in attack.

Source: Varzesh 3