Hansi Flick talks Yamal, Frenkie, Lewandowski, Arbeloa ahead of Barcelona vs Espanyol | OneFootball

Following their painful 0-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie, FC Barcelona are set to return to action in La Liga in what is going to be another heated game, i.e., the Barcelona derby, against RCD Espanyol.

Being seven points ahead of the second-placed Real Madrid, the Blaugranes have some room for experimentation in this game. However, they would still be looking for a win, especially keeping in view the historical significance of the game, and also to boost their morale going into the second leg against the Colchoneros.

Ahead of this game, Hansi Flick held his customery press conference, the highlights of which have been published by Mundo Deportivo. The German coach talked about different aspects of the club in this presser, and also about the upcoming games and challenges for his team.

The Barcelona coach started right off by confirming that there will be rotations in the starting lineup for this game:

“We’ll see. Of course, we have to take care of the players and manage their minutes, as always. We have a lot of quality in this team and whoever plays tomorrow will do a fantastic job.”

Flick was grateful to the Blaugrana club for supporting him in their complain against refereeing in the last UCL game:

“I don’t know what result we will get, but for me and for the team it’s good that the club supports us in this because it was unfair. You can make a mistake once, but not twice, and the club’s support is very important.”

The German coach once again called out the officials for their mistakes in the first leg:

“Of course, that’s what I think—the VAR came to help. In the VAR they saw something that wasn’t correct and they have to call the referee and tell him to review the play, and that’s what I missed in that match. I think there are many things we can do better. It’s true we didn’t play our best match and made some mistakes, but that wasn’t right and at this stage it decided the match.”

The Barcelona coach hinted at some minutes for Frenkie de Jong as he returns from his injury:

“It also applies to him that we have to go step by step; the next step is tomorrow. We’ll see how he feels after training and decide what to do. I’m very happy he’s back, but we have to wait until tomorrow. He felt good in training and will be on the bench.”

However, Flick did not reveal a lot when asked if Lamine Yamal would start tomorrow:

“We’ll see how we manage it. For him it’s always good to start, and we’ll see—I haven’t decided yet. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

The German tactician did not want to talk about Lewandowski’s renewal in this presser:

“I’ve already answered that, I always answer it—this is not the moment to talk about it. We have a big goal and all the players must focus on that and give our best version. This is not the moment to talk about it. Next year is important, but now is not the time to talk about who will leave.”

The Barcelona coach was quite clear about which competition he wants to win:

“Of course, the league is what gets us into the Champions League, but the dream for every coach, player, and fan is to win the Champions League, and that’s why we are there. In every match you can see the team is a bit more motivated in the Champions League, and it’s the competition we want to win. We have to do our job in the league, but the most important thing is to win the Champions League—that is the goal of the players and the club, and why we are here.”

Flick refused to respond to Arbeloa’s comments on Barcelona:

“Nothing, I don’t spend my energy on it. It’s his opinion and I focus on my team.”

The German coach believed the last loss is not going to affect the team a lot in the upcoming game against Espanyol:

“I have very good feelings. The atmosphere and concentration in training were very good, and I see the players very prepared and focused for tomorrow.”

The Blaugrana trainer did not rule out a starting spot for Gavi tomorrow:

“He is a good option to start tomorrow, and we’ll see whether he plays 90 minutes or not—we have to see. With him we have to go step by step, but he is ready to start.”

Once again, Flick refused to comment on Real Madrid:

This press conference once again focused on the UCL game against Atletico Madrid and the refereeing controversies from it. However, Hansi Flick also hinted on how he would go into the upcoming game against Espanyol, and hopefully, he would get the job done despite making some rotations.