Last night, Hansi Flick faced the first defeat of his career as the FC Barcelona head coach. His side fell to a 2-1 defeat against Monaco in the opening Champions League match, despite being the favorites ahead of the game.
Some mistakes from the Blaugrana goalkeeper, Marc Andre Ter Stegen, and the red card to Eric Garcia were Barcelona’s undoing on the night.
Flick talked to the media after the game and also put some responsibility for the defeat on the early red card. However, as Mundo Deportivo has reported, he still defended his team for keeping on trying to get a result despite the adverse situation:
“The game changed after the red card in the first 10 minutes, which made us alter our idea and our plan. We tried at all times. We defended with passion, but we made some mistakes. I saw many positive aspects from the game. We had chances, but in the end, they brought on fast players and deserved to win.”
“We didn’t play at the highest level or how we want to play. We have to accept that. I’m sure that when other players return, we will be stronger.”
The German tactician went on to reveal that the players were disappointed, but he motivated them to keep their spirits high ahead of another important game against Villarreal on the weekend:
“There was disappointment in the locker room, and I told them that now we have to recover for Sunday. La Liga is important, and we must keep adding points. We need to analyze the game and talk with the players to see what we didn’t do well.”
“It won’t be easy, but we have to regain our energy. We lost, okay, I told the players, but we have to come back stronger and recover. We have a match on Sunday, and we need to give our best, and fight for the team, and that’s what we will keep doing.”
“We are strong enough to have a good Champions League. There are seven games left, and we will achieve our objectives.”
Lamine Yamal and Marc Casado were two of the players he praised in particular after this match:
“Lamine tried a lot. It was a difficult game, and you have to adapt to these situations. The substitutions of Lamine and Cubarsí were more about thinking ahead to Sunday. They were very tired.”
“Casadó is fine, he just took a knock. [He was one of the] players who gave more than we expected. Casadó did, as well as Raphinha and Lamine. I’m very proud of this team, and we have to accept this defeat.”
Lastly, Barcelona head coach also commented on Fati, who returned to the field in Barcelona color after a long time last night:
“I’ve spoken with him, and he sees himself more as a left winger, but he has great qualities to play in the center as well. I saw him very differently in July, and he was brilliant in training. Now he needs time, and we have to take care of him.”
