Barcelona coach Hansi Flick admitted that his team once again revealed its defensive weaknesses during the thrilling 3-3 draw against Club Brugge of Belgium, in the match that took place on Wednesday evening in the fourth round of the Champions League. However, Flick stressed his determination to continue playing an attacking style, despite criticism.
In statements reported by the Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” after the match, Flick said: “We conceded two goals within the first quarter of an hour, then we conceded the third goal just one minute after scoring the equalizing goal… The goals came as a result of losing the ball in critical areas, and this shows that we are no longer playing as a cohesive unit as we should. It was not an easy match, we created chances, but they played intelligently and had the fighting spirit we expected.”
The German coach refused to change the defensive style of play despite the recurring mistakes, and explained: “We are Barcelona, and we want to play in our own way. Some may demand to change everything, but I am not that kind of coach. We will continue to play according to our philosophy. We will not rely on retreating to defend in our area and playing on counterattacks to win with a score of 1-0. We will work to improve performance, but while maintaining our style.”
Flick pointed out that the problem lies in the midfield area, saying: “The pressure in the middle of the field was not strong enough, and we lost a lot of balls, and this made the task difficult for the defense in facing their quick attacks. Of course, the defense must also improve, but without ferocity and pressure, we cannot compete in the Champions League.”
The coach confirmed that the team is suffering from a decline in level compared to last season, adding: “Last year we were suffering from offside cases by a narrow margin, but now we are facing a real difficulty and suffering from these mistakes. We are not in our best condition, but there are no excuses, we played with the same lineup, and I will remain optimistic. After the break, “Rafinha,” “Pedri,” and “Olmo” may return, and perhaps we will see “Lewandowski” at a better level.”
Flick concluded his speech by praising the young player Lamine Yamal, saying: “I am happy with his return to this level, but we must monitor his condition closely. The most important thing is that he knows how to deal with this situation, because the pain has not disappeared yet. If he continues to work hard, the pain will gradually disappear. It is not easy, but it is going in the right direction.”
Negative numbers
Barcelona recorded a number of negative numbers in their disappointing 3-3 draw with their host, Club Brugge of Belgium, on Wednesday evening in the fourth round of the group stage of the Champions League.
According to the “Opta” statistics network, Barcelona has conceded goals in the last 9 consecutive matches in all competitions, with a total of 15 goals, which is the worst series without a clean sheet since March 2013 (21 goals conceded in 13 matches).
The network also explained that Barcelona conceded two goals in just the first 16 minutes and 35 seconds against Club Brugge, which is the fastest time the team has been behind by two goals in its history in the Champions League.
Club Brugge finished the first half of the match, which was held at the “Jan Breydel” stadium, leading 2-1, as Nicolo Tresoldi scored for the Belgians in the 6th minute, and Carlos Forbes added the second goal in the 17th minute, while Ferran Torres scored Barcelona’s only goal in the 8th minute.
For his part, the young Portuguese Carlos Forbes wrote history, after becoming the youngest player to score and assist in one match against Barcelona in the Champions League, at the age of 21 years and 231 days, surpassing the record held by David Beckham with Manchester United since September 1998 (23 years and 137 days).
Barcelona escapes defeat
Barcelona escaped defeat, snatching a hard-fought draw from the clutches of Club Brugge of Belgium with a score of (3-3) on Wednesday evening, in the match that was held between them in the fourth round of the league stage of the European Champions League, at the latter’s stronghold, the “Jan Breydel” stadium.
Barcelona’s goals were scored by Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal, and Christos Tzolis “own goal”, in the minutes (8, 61, 77), while Carlos Forbes “brace” and Nicolo Tresoldi scored for Club Brugge in the minutes (6, 17, 63).
Barcelona was on its way to its second loss in the continental championship this season, were it not for the goal scored by a Club Brugge player by mistake in his own net, as he converted a cross from Lamine Yamal with his head into the net.
With this draw, Barcelona raised its score to 7 points, occupying eleventh place, where it lost its fifth point in this round after having previously lost to the title holder Paris Saint-Germain, while Club Brugge raised its score to 4 points in twenty-second place.
