According to a post by Fabrizio Romano on X on Monday, October 26, 2026, José Mourinho has explained how he instructed Eduardo Camavinga to exploit spaces behind Barcelona’s defence, highlighting the importance of midfield runners against Hansi Flick’s side.

Mourinho revealed that he specifically told the French midfielder to attack the available space, believing that runs from midfield offered a more effective way to penetrate Barcelona’s defensive structure.

“I told Camavinga, go and attack the space,” Mourinho said.

The Portuguese coach explained that Barcelona’s defensive organisation makes it difficult for opposing attackers to time their runs and get behind the backline.

According to him, the Catalan club’s defenders are well prepared to deal with forward movements from attacking players.

“It's difficult for any attackers to attack space against Barcelona, the only solution is to do it with your midfielders,” he explained.

Mourinho added that when forwards attempt to run in behind Barcelona’s defence, they often find themselves caught offside or see their passes intercepted by goalkeeper Joan García.

“When your attackers do it, Barca's defense is prepared and coached for that, and your attackers end up being offside, or the pass ends up being cut by Joan Garcia,” he said.

The former Real Madrid manager therefore identified midfield movement as an important tactical alternative.

Rather than relying exclusively on forwards to stretch the defence, he advocated using players arriving from deeper positions to disrupt Barcelona’s defensive line.

Mourinho specifically mentioned Camavinga and Jude Bellingham as midfielders capable of making those penetrating runs and creating problems for the opposition.

“The solution is to use midfielders like Camavinga and Bellingham to break that line, and it worked,” he added.

His explanation underlines how coordinated runs from midfield can provide an alternative route to goal against a defence that anticipates conventional attacking movements.

By encouraging Camavinga and Bellingham to advance into space, Mourinho sought to make Barcelona’s defensive organisation more difficult to maintain and create opportunities beyond the first line of pressure.