Barcelona legend Thierry Henry has voiced serious concern over his former club’s defensive struggles, admitting it “pains” him to say they are not capable of winning the Champions League in their current form.
The Catalan giants were held to a 3-3 draw with Club Brugge on Wednesday night, continuing a worrying trend of defensive lapses. The result followed a defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in their previous European outing, and Barcelona have now conceded seven goals in four Champions League games this season.
Speaking on CBS Sports, Henry didn’t hold back in his assessment:
“The coordination in defence is so bad. You can’t win the Champions League like this — it’s very difficult,” he said.
“It’s not just this game against Brugge — it was PSG, last year it was Benfica, then the Clásico, then Inter. I played for Arsenal, Juventus, and I won a lot with Barcelona, so it hurts me to say this about my old club.”
Henry stressed that Barcelona’s defensive issues have persisted for too long, warning that no team can rely solely on attacking power to succeed at the highest level.
“You can’t keep hoping to score three or four goals every time. That doesn’t work anymore, not in modern football. You can’t defend like that.”
Barcelona currently sit 11th in the overall Champions League table, still within reach of qualification for the round of 16, but their defensive instability remains a major concern ahead of upcoming fixtures against Chelsea, Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, and Copenhagen.
Despite the criticism, manager Hansi Flick stood by his tactical approach after the six-goal thriller, insisting that Barcelona must remain true to their philosophy.
“We want to play to our DNA,” Flick said. “We don’t want to sit deep and win 1-0 through counterattacks. That’s not who we are.”
Still, as Henry warned, unless Barcelona find balance between their trademark attacking style and defensive solidity, their dream of European glory could slip further away.
Published on November 6, 2025
By goalx365