"The red card changed everything"

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick admitted that the red card that Real Sociedad defender Aritz Elustondo saw in the 17th minute “helped” his team defeat the Basque side 4-0 in LaLiga EA Sports on Sunday.

“That's how we like to play, always with an attacking mentality and on the attack so that everyone is thirsty to score. Today we occupied the spaces well. The red card changed everything. It helped us and after the sending-off we were very dominant. More than the goals, we are happy with the three points,” said the German coach.

Speaking in the press room of the Olympic Stadium Lluis Companys, Flick celebrated his team's defensive improvement compared to last Tuesday's 4-4 draw in the Copa del Rey against Atletico Madrid.

The German coach admitted that he had planned to start with Pablo Paez Gavira 'Gavi' in midfield, but finally opted to field Dani Olmo because the former had a fever on Saturday.

Flick commented that “this is not the time” to think about when La Liga title race will be decided, a competition that Barcelona leads alone with a one-point margin over Atletico Madrid, as “everything can change quickly”.

“We always think about the next game, in this case against Benfica in the Champions League. When we started the season nobody expected to be in this situation and what we want is to fight for the three titles until the end,” he said.

He also played down the importance of winger Lamine Yamal's poor scoring form: “Everyone wants to score, but for me the important thing is that Lamine makes brilliant final passes and always generates a lot of chances. He will score again, it's natural, because he tries new things and always tries. He's on the right track. Besides, we are a team, it doesn't matter who scores”.

Regarding striker Robert Lewandowski, who scored his 34th goal of the season and beat his best goalscoring record as a Barcelona player, the German coach said that “it is always important for a striker to score”, although he acknowledged that on Sunday “he had a bit of luck” in the 4-0 scoreline. 

 

March 3, 2025