Barcelona has seen its season take a dramatic turn in the last week. Hansi Flick’s side has faced some turbulence in the smooth-sailing season, and the manager has acted quickly.
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A week ago, Barcelona was the Spanish Super Cup champion, cruising atop La Liga while gearing up for the Copa del Rey semifinal first leg. Now, they have one foot out of the cup competition and are second in the table.
Flick’s side was thrashed 4-0 by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the semifinal at the Metropolitano, and the scoreline could have been much worse for the Catalan side. They were dealt another blow in the league when Girona surprised them with a 2-1 win.
According to a report in SPORT, Flick held an hour-long meeting with the staff and players after they returned to the training ground. The manager wanted to address the situation and also hear from others as they looked to bounce back.
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The drastic mood change earlier this week saw the German manager step in and decide it was best to give the players two days off rather than force them to train. He spoke about the decision soon after the game and said:
“I’ve given them two days off. The goal is to mentally reset and recharge before facing the next match. We’re all disappointed. But we’ll fight. It’s time to come back. We’ll return on Thursday with a different mindset and train better. I hope to have more players back 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 also admitted that the players were tired after a hectic schedule and needed the rest. He did not want to use it as an excuse for the loss and said:
“The team is tired, not fresh, but we need to be hungrier to win games. More control, fewer mistakes. 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 chances in the first half. Girona had them in the second half. In transition, in defense, especially, we didn’t do well.”
Barcelona faces Levante next in the league, followed by Villarreal later this month. They are chasing Real Madrid, which faced Benfica in the UEFA Champions League playoff this week and has the second leg next week after the trip to Osasuna in La Liga.
