The Spanish newspaper 'Sport' revealed that FC Barcelona ended the year 2025 with a promising sense of defensive solidity, thanks to the defensive duo Pau Couparsy and Gerard Martin, as the team achieved 7 wins out of 7 matches, conceding 6 goals and keeping 3 clean sheets, reflecting an improvement in the team's performance under the leadership of Hans Flick.

The newspaper explained that this defensive improvement would not have happened without the contribution of other elements, including the role of Eric Garcia as a pivotal midfielder, Rafinha's continuous pressing, in addition to the presence of Juan Garcia in goal, and Pedri's influence on the team's tactical control despite missing the last match due to injury.

Questions have begun to arise about whether Flick will continue to rely on this formation in 2026, with the first test being Barcelona's match against Espanyol on January 3, which will determine the continuation of the Couparsy and Gerard Martin duo in central defense.

The report added that Eric Garcia was not utilized as a right-back but was relied upon to compensate for Frenkie de Jong in the midfield pivot, which helped Flick enhance the team's balance, while Araujo recently returned from health and psychological issues and is expected to be a key development in upcoming team training sessions.

The newspaper praised the defensive trio, noting that Gerard Martin's left side allowed Couparsy to play in his natural position, while Eric provides a more balanced defensive midfield pivot, making Barcelona possess a promising defensive foundation in 2026, with upcoming matches set to reveal the extent of Flick's reliance on this strategy.