Eric Garcia warns Barcelona after conceding twice against Levante | OneFootball

Hansi Flick made several changes to his FC Barcelona starting lineup for today’s La Liga game against Levante as compared to his lineup for his team’s last game, the UEFA Champions League encounter against Feyenoord. One of the expected changes was the return of Eric Garcia, who was unable to play in the UCL opener because of suspension.

For this La Liga game, he retook his spot on the right-back position, and played with a protective mask after having suffered a blow to his nose, from his teammate Rodri, during the last league match against Valencia.

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the Spaniard was one of the Barcelona players who talked to the media after the end of the match against Levante. The defender highlighted how difficult the game was despite the favorable final scoreline:

“The time, the heat, the pitch wasn’t helping either us or them… It’s a difficult ground; the coach told us they had not lost here since March. I think we made the match more difficult for ourselves than necessary. It has to serve as a lesson for us; you give any opponent a little breathing room and they get on top of you.”

Despite these mistakes, Garcia believed it was a good performance from the team in general:

“They are mistakes that we know we can avoid. In general, we played a good game. We can be happy.”

Xavi Espart was one of the players whose mistake led to a Levante goal, but Eric highlighted how well he has been playing lately:

“The coach is showing that he has complete confidence in him, and he is responding. He is playing very well and we have to be very happy. He has to keep working.”

When asked about competition for starting spots, the defender highlighted how it keeps everyone on their toes:

“No one can afford to switch off.”

Lastly, the Spaniard highlighted ball-playing ability and speed as core strengths of this Barcelona team:

“We feel comfortable with the ball. We have midfielders and players at the back who can play the ball very well. Up front, we have animals, beasts, who can do a lot of damage in behind.”

As was the case last season, Eric Garcia is set to remain a key part of Hansi Flick’s plans for this new season. This is going to be especially the case as he is also one of the captains at Barcelona, and hopefully, this added responsibility will only push him to perform even better.