Barcelona star confirms Hansi Flick wake-up call following Espanyol win

Barcelona have so few problems at the moment, that a lackluster second half against Espanyol over the weekend was the headline story from the match. Nevertheless, it is not an issue manager Hansi Flick has let slide.

On Sunday night, Flick said that he understood that sometimes players relax when they are winning, and that he would let this one go, but they would have to put in a different performance on Wednesday against Crvena Zvezda. There have been a number of stories emphasizing the personable side of Flick in recent weeks, and distancing him from the disciplinarian image that he arrived with in Spain.

Ahead of their clash in the Champions League though, Fermin Lopez confirmed that Flick had made sure his players knew that it was not up to standard.

“It’s true that in the second half of the other day we relaxed a little. The coach pushed us after the game. I don’t think it will happen again, I think the team is doing a very good job and we have to continue like this. Tomorrow I’m sure we will continue doing our football to try to win,” he told MD.

Flick: “I have a fantastic team and a great staff. We all know each other well, and the work done is very good. The players are performing very well in every training session, and in every game. It’s incredible. Not only the young players, but the most veterans are also doing a…

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 5, 2024

One of Flick’s greatest successes in the early stages of his time at Barcelona has been raising the standards at Barcelona, which based on the on-pitch evidence, had dropped last season. The Blaugrana not only are winning games and comfortably, but had cut out the sloppy mistakes, as evidenced by the remarkable success of their offside line. So far, Barcelona have seen 13 goals disallowed for offside, and caught opponents out on 84 times with their high defence.