FC Barcelona fell to their second consecutive defeat last night as they lost 2-1 to Girona away at Estadi Montilivi in La Liga.
Days after their 4-0 humbling loss to Atletico Madrid, the Blaugrana were expected to produce a strong reaction but were unable to do so.
Missed chances, defensive errors, and questionable refereeing all contributed to the result as Barça fell to yet another defeat, finishing the matchday in the second place, two points behind Real Madrid.
What Flick said after the match
Speaking to the media after the match, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was critical of the way the team played as well as the refereeing – after all, the match official ignored a clear foul on Jules Kounde in the lead-up to Girona’s late winner, scored by Fran Beltran.
“I don’t want to talk about this; everyone saw what happened on the second goal,” started Flick.
When pressed further on the matter, he answered with a rhetorical question, saying: “You all saw this play. Was it a foul or not? Yes? Thank you very much, there’s no need to say more.”
However, the German tactician refused to blame the referee for the defeat, and admitted that his players were poor on the night, especially in the second half.
“We played really badly in the second half. We were poor defensively,” he noted.
At the same time, though, the Barcelona manager did have a pointed remark towards the referees, as he said:
“There are no excuses, but they’re [referees] at the same level as us, so maybe it’s not a good level.”
Barcelona came up second best vs Girona. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)
Moving back to the performance, Flick acknowledged that Barcelona were not playing at their best level, saying:
“We’re not in a good mood, we’re in a bad moment. This is a long road to get back to fighting and regaining first place.”
The manager also pointed towards fatigue being a factor, stating: “The team is tired, not fresh, but we need to be hungrier to win matches. More control, fewer mistakes.”
However, he refused to point fingers at anyone in particular for the loss, noting: “There are no excuses. We didn’t do our job, and we have to improve. The result is what it is. We have to play better.
“We had many opportunities in the first half. Girona had them in the second half. In transition, in defence, we especially didn’t do well.”
Continuing the self-criticism, he added: “Our positioning wasn’t good, especially in midfield. We made too many mistakes. We have to get back on track and start playing well again. Right now, we’re not doing things right.”
As an immediate measure, the coach announced a short break for the squad: “I’ve given them two days off.”
“We are all disappointed. But we will fight. It’s time to come back. On Thursday, we will return with a different mindset and train better,” he vowed.
Flick also confirmed that he was confident of recovering key players in the coming days.
“I expect more players next week. With Pedri, with Rashford… we’ll see about Gavi. We have a new situation and we need to get back to our best,” he concluded.
Source: Mundo Deportivo