Villarreal manager heavily impressed by Hansi Flick’s ‘dangerous’ Barcelona | OneFootball

Villarreal manager Marcelino expressed his admiration for Hansi Flick and Barcelona as his team prepared to face the Blaugrana at home.

He acknowledged the improvements in Barcelona’s style of play, particularly their ability to adapt and evolve their tactics. Marcelino praised the Barcelona players for adding new dimensions to their game, making them a more unpredictable and dangerous team.

“They are a more vertical and faster team than usual, with that gene that they boast so much about,” said the Villarreal manager as reported by SPORT.

“This Barça also applies other characteristics that make it so dangerous. They have scored nine goals in less than five passes. They have expanded their range of options. I must congratulate them,” he added.

He likes to face teams like Barcelona

Marcelino has nothing but praise for Hansi Flick and Barcelona. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Marcelino also reminded everyone that Barcelona is currently the best team in the competition, as both their results and performances prove.

However, he remained confident in Villarreal’s form, mentioning that his team has been performing well and is excited to face such a strong opponent.

“We are playing against a great team, the best in the current competition, as the results and the game show. But we are also doing well. The stadium will be full and these are the games that we all like to play.”

The Villarreal coach acknowledged Barcelona’s strengths but also mentioned that his team has had a solid start to the season, with 11 points from the first five games, despite having played three of those matches away from home.

“Barcelona are a winning and attractive team, we are doing well, aware of our capacity to improve, but we would have signed up for 11 points out of 15 in the first five games with three away games,” he said.

No criticism of Barcelona

Marcelino decided not to comment much on Barcelona’s recent defeat to Monaco. (Photo by MANAURE QUINTERO/AFP via Getty Images)

While he refrained from criticising Barcelona for their recent loss to Monaco, he stated that unpredictable moments in football, like having a player sent off early, can affect any team’s performance.

“We don’t want to rub salt into the wounds of a rival, they are coming off a loss in a game in which football puts you in unexpected situations, nobody wants to be left with ten men at the start and they competed very well against a very physical team.”

Finally, Marcelino admitted that beating Barcelona would require a near-perfect performance, but he maintained that it was not impossible.

“We have to play a perfect game to beat Barça, it’s very difficult but not impossible .”

Lastly, he didn’t see Barcelona’s recent European commitments or lack of rest as an advantage for Villarreal, noting that any team would love to have the opportunity to compete in European tournaments.

“It’s not the ideal situation for them, but we would also like to play in Europe,” he noted.