Barcelona are not just the best team in Spain currently but also one of the best in world football. Their offensive prowess has made them one of the most entertaining teams to watch and a team to beat.
Barcelona currently sit top of La Liga, four points ahead of bitter rivals Real Madrid, and are on course to win the domestic treble as well as challenging for the Champions League this season.
Barcelona have won their last 11 games in a row and 9 out of 10 in the league. The club have also kept five clean sheets in their last six games across all competitions.
The Blaugranas are flying high, but what are some of the factors that have made them a terror to several oppositions and one of the most entertaining sides to watch in world football this season?
Offensive Prowess.
One of the strongest offensive teams in world football is Barcelona. They have the most goals in La Liga (53) and the second most in Europe’s top five leagues, only behind Bayern, who have been mental this season with 66 goals.
The Catalan giant leads the league with big chances created, with 77 big chances, and has the most big chances created in Europe’s top five leagues.
Barcelona also possesses several key attacking talents and immense offensive squad depth, with players like Raphinha and Yamal leading the league with 13 big chances created and the most take-ons (77) in Europe’s top five leagues this season. and also possessing players like Rashford and Bardghji on the bench who can come in and do a lot of damage.
This club also leads the league with accurate passes per game, total shots per game, shots on target per game and successful dribbles per game (11.5), only slightly ahead of rivals Real Madrid.
Other than Lewandowski, all their attacking players are versatile and can play multiple positions. Like Rashford, who can operate on the left side, right side and even centrally, or even Yamal and Raphinha, who can operate on both sides or down the middle as a CAM, and even both Fermin Lopez and Olmo, who can both operate on the left wing as attacking midfielders and centrally in the midfield areas.
These are impressive feats, and personally, I think that when all players are healthy, their offence can challenge the best teams and stand a very good chance of coming out on top.
Raphinha
I can’t talk about Barcelona without talking about Raphinha. This man has arguably Barca’s most important player in this Flick system dating back to last season.
Raphinha just doesn’t contribute offensively, but he’s also a major defensive asset for his side due to his relentless high press and diehard attitude on the pitch.
This can be seen in him not starting any game that Barcelona has lost this season, or in the club conceding 2 goals or more in some games he did not start, like against Real Betis, Sevilla, PSG, and even Chelsea.
Since his return from injury, the team’s defensive output has been consistent, and it has translated into more wins for Barcelona.
The Brazilian had a standout season a year prior, amassing 34 goals and 26 assists in 57 games across all competitions, and was their talisman last season, playing a key role in their domestic treble and run to the Champions League semi-final.
Raphinha also amassed individual accolades, including La Liga Player of the Season, Globe Soccer Awards (Best La Liga Player), top scorer in the Champions League (13), and the most assists (9). This made him joint top with Ronaldo for most goal involvements in a Champions League campaign and also the Barcelona player with the most player goal involvement in a Champions League campaign.
Raphinha had a 60-goal contribution; Benzema, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2022, had a 59-goal contribution; Haaland, who finished second in the 2023 Ballon d’Or rankings, had a 61-goal contribution; and Robert Lewandowski, who should have won the 2020 Ballon d’Or unanimously, had a 65-goal contribution in the 2019/2020 Ballon d’Or season.
The difference between these players and Raphinha was that they could have won, or they won, but in Raphinha’s case, he wasn’t even part of the top three in the Ballon d’Or rankings, nor was he part of the FIFA The Best XI.
I can go on and on about this, but other than his coach, his wife, and a few of the Barcelona fanbase, no one really sees how important he is to Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, and it just complements him and brings out the best in him on both ends.
This guy even went from being wanted out in 2024 so they (Barcelona) could generate money from his sale to bring in Nico Williams to the club, but he ended up staying, writing history, and has been a crucial player for this Barcelona side.
I’ll probably write another article about Raphinha another time, because there are still some aspects I haven’t covered about this guy.
High Defensive Line:
No doubt, over the past few months, Barcelona has become synonymous with the High Line. A high line is a defensive football tactic which entails using your offensive players to press the opposition higher up the pitch (in order to press, force errors or even win the ball) and keeping your four defenders not too far from the halfway line in order to make use of the offside trap and force opponents into offside positions.
This high defensive line complements Barcelona, as they have the players that are able to press high up the pitch, enabling a counter-press and keeping opponents offside, like Fermin Raphinha’s high press with Pedri and De Jong’s technicality, and Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia’s football IQ also help the high line in becoming a success for Barcelona.
Barcelona play a possession-based style of football, as evidenced by their league-leading 68.4% possession this season, which has also translated into 77 big chances.
This high defensive line drew attention when they faced Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in October 2024, when Mbappe set a record with eight offsides in a single match, most of them in the first half. It helped Barcelona come out with a 4:0 win at the Bernabeu, including keeping a clean sheet.
The brilliance of the players!
I would also have to give credit to the players as well in this run of form, with players like Eric Garcia, who is a Swiss army knife, having helped the team a lot this season, playing multiple positions this season, including being a good defensive partner for Pau Cubarsi, operating as a defensive midfielder or even a right back.
Eric Garcia is currently second on his team in progressive passes this season.
The wonderkid Pau Cubarsi has been incredible this season as well. With Inigo Martinez gone, Pau Cubarsi has been amazing at times this season.
He is the player with the most passes completed per 90 in La Liga this season, ahead of teammates Pedri, De Jong and even Gerrard Martin. Cubarsi finished third in the 2025 Golden Boy behind Doue and Arda Guler.
Joan Garcia, too, has been phenomenal this season as well, with five clean sheets in his last six games, including against local rivals Espanyol, which he joined from in the summer for £25M, with fans making jokes about him saving the Titanic. Joan Garcia is averaging a save percentage of 83.3% and has faced 42 shots on target.
Araujo is by no means a bad player, and I see all these jokes online about him, and personally I see him as a good player, but under Xavi he was a standout player because of his physical prowess, but under Flick he hasn’t been at his best because he’s not the tactical defender in his but rather relies more on physical dominance.
Balde has been phenomenal, playing as the left back in Spain this season and the season prior. Balde is an explosive left back and has great strength defensively, and is also a serious threat going forward, and is a good fit for Flick’s system.
There’s also the technicality of Pedri and Frenkie De Jong in the midfield areas. Frenkie has been class and, in my opinion, a very underrated midfielder who operates in a hybrid double pivot alongside Marc Casadó or Pedri, bringing calmness, immense vision, and the ability to control the pace of the game.
The Barcelona superstar had a phenomenal season, finishing 11th in the Ballon d’Or rankings and being part of the FIFA The Best XI. Pedri is third in key passes per game (2.3) this season and 3.54 in progressive carries. Pedri is arguably the best midfielder in world football.
Hansi Flick
Hansi Flick also deserves a lot of credit for taking a side that looked like they couldn’t compete, not just with Real Madrid but against a lot of top clubs in Europe, especially in terms of financial power and resources.
Since taking over the job in the summer of 2024, he has made them one of the most entertaining sides to watch, playing a very offensive and possession-based style of football.
He has made use of La Masia players and has been able to bring out the best in players, like Fermin Lopez, Pau Cubarsi, Balde, Ferran Torres (he still scored fifteen goals last season) and, most importantly, Raphinha.
Personally, I rate Hansi Flick, and I see him up there with other world-class coaches, especially if you’re looking at it from the perspective of an attacking brand of football.
Conclusion?
Personally, I see Barcelona as a club that, regardless of how broke they are, can’t really suffer as you’d make them out to be because of their La Masia Academy.
La Masia academy has produced several players, including Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Piqué, and, most notably, Lionel Messi, considered by many to be the greatest player of all time.
The club’s resurgence, despite its financial struggles, has been built on a mix of household names and players deemed not good enough, like Ferran Torres and Raphinha.
And it’s safe to say to all Barcelona fans out there that the dark days seem to be over for the club, and they can now look forward to long-term projects and players.
I’m really curious to see how much this young squad, full of promise, can achieve in the upcoming years.