Barcelona manager Hansi Flick faced the press on Monday morning and faced questions about why he looked so dejected after beating Alaves last time out.
Flick’s chat with Raphinha after the game went viral and created plenty of headlines, and the Barca boss offered up the following explanation at his pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday’s match with Atletico Madrid.
“I was disappointed because we lost possession a lot, two players on the bench were sent off… when we scored the third goal, Marcus got a red card, and I’d spoken to him—he’s my friend, the most important person I have here—and I had that conversation on my mind. I wanted to clear my head a bit; I didn’t want to argue,” he told reporters.
“But I’m fine, and ready for whatever the club throws at me. I’m very happy to be here. It’s normal for things to go wrong in a match like that. These matches affect you; you dedicate a lot of energy. But then I get home and relax. I wasn’t sad or thinking about other things. We’re not at our peak like last year, but we have potential.”
Flick also spoke about his team’s performance in the game and what he felt had been missing.
“We need more control. We have the quality, and we want to see it,” he added.
“I said it after the game. We made too many mistakes. We usually have the quality to control the game, and that’s what I’ve been missing in recent matches. I want to see that quality.”
Barcelona’s win did sent them top of the table and they have stayed there thanks to Real Madrid dropping points against Girona on Sunday.
Both teams play again in midweek with Barca up against Atletico and Madrid away at Athletic Club.
