FC Barcelona’s 2–1 defeat in El Clásico brought a miserable week to a close for the Catalan side, who had suffered their first defeat of the season on Tuesday, losing 4–2 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Before speaking to the media, head coach Hansi Flick asked his players to go into the dressing room for a team talk. He then reflected on the disappointing result against Real Madrid.
“I’m not satisfied. Today, it was clear that we weren’t at 100% physically fresh. Normally, we would have been fresher. We played well in the second half, and Madrid only had two chances to score their second goal. We controlled the game and made it 1–1. Towards the end, we pressed high, and they scored on the counterattack. It’s not a good outcome for us, but we have to accept it. Defeats are also part of football,” Flick told DAZN.
“This is our first defeat in ten league matches. We’re not playing at our best, and that has to do with a lack of freshness. We have a week before our next game to prepare. We need to restore the team’s energy,” the Barcelona coach added, later stressing that “the players need to switch off” after such an intense week.
Flick also spoke to Barça’s own media, once again highlighting the team’s lack of freshness when facing a physically powerful and imposing side like Real Madrid.
“I’m disappointed. At 1–1, we controlled the game and had chances to score a second goal, but we were missing a bit of luck. We have to accept it. We made mistakes, and they scored. We need to focus on what we can do better,” Flick concluded. He also expressed his happiness at Frenkie de Jong’s return, with the midfielder making his first appearance of the season.
“We know that the past week hasn’t been perfect. We lost in Paris and suffered our first league defeat, but we’re still top of the table. We need to regain our energy. We weren’t fresh enough in the first half,” Flick reiterated.
Barcelona will now have a full week to prepare for Alavés’ visit to Spotify Camp Nou and regain their confidence after suffering back-to-back defeats.