Hansi Flick talks Rayo, Joan, Olmo, Fermin & Araujo as Barcelona secure 1-0 win in La Liga | OneFootball

FC Barcelona got the job done against Rayo Vallecano, but Hansi Flick had no interest in dressing it up as an easy afternoon. A narrow 1-0 win was enough to secure the points, and from a Barca perspective, that was clearly the main thing after a heavy run of matches.

In his post-match comments as quoted by SPORT, Flick first acknowledged how difficult Rayo made the game. He said:

“Very happy with the result, Rayo played a fantastic match, they put us in many difficulties. I expected that. The important thing was to get the three points after the load of matches we have been carrying.”

Barca were not at their most fluent, but this was the sort of match where maturity mattered more than sparkle. Flick then went on to speak about Joan Garcia, who put in a MOTM performance. He said:

“Joan Garcia has had another great match, he has shown his strength between the posts and his quality. That is why we signed him.”

The coach then turned to two of Barca’s most influential attacking midfielders. He said:

“Olmo gives us control, he has great quality and is very important in the opposition area, while Fermin gives you late runs and breaks down rival defences. He showed it against Newcastle and also today.”

Finally, Flick reserved some praise for the goal-scorer and match-winner on the night, Ronald Araujo. He said:

“I am very happy for Araujo. He gave us the three points with his goal. He is very important for the club, for the player. The victory is important because now we have 14 days without football.”

It was by no means a pretty win for Barcelona. However, it doesn’t matter as the most important thing was getting the 3 points. It comes as a massive boost for the Catalan club ahead of the international break.

Flick will now be keen to go away on this two-week hiatus and hopefully recover his key injured players before they come back to face Atletico Madrid in an important game in La Liga.