‘It’s not easy to play here’ — Hansi Flick reacts as Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 | OneFootball

FC Barcelona took a giant step towards a successful defense of their La Liga title last night as they beat Atletico Madrid with a 1-2 scoreline. Before that, Real Madrid had lost their game to Mallorca, which means the Blaugranes now have a 7-point lead at the top of the table.

However, getting this win was anything but easy, and it was only in the last minutes of the game that the Catalans were able to score the winning goal. Still, Hansi Flick was quite happy with his team’s performance, and as Mundo Deportivo has reported, he expressed this happiness as he talked to the press after the match.

But despite his happiness, the German coach was clear that it is not yet time to celebrate:

“Everyone is happy, but we won’t celebrate much. It’s not done yet, and in a few days we have another match against a great team. The job is not done.”

Flick did not comment when asked about the defeat faced by Real Madrid against Mallorca:

“I don’t look at other teams; we have to do our job. We did it, and that’s good, but we also have physical problems with Ronald Araújo and Marc Bernal with ankle issues. We have to do our job and keep this hunger to win matches; every game is important, different, and difficult.”

The Barcelona coach was happy with how his players continued fighting till the end:

“We played against a team with one player less, and they defended very well, but we tried everything until we scored the goal.”

The German tactician was also happy with the points won at this difficult stadium:

“The three points are very valuable. It’s not easy to play here, against a great team, because of the atmosphere, which is very intense.”

For now, Flick was looking forward to the UCL game against the same opponent:

“The Champions League is different, and everyone wants to be in the semifinal. We need to rest and prepare for this important match at home. These are the kinds of games we work for.”

The Barcelona coach was happy with his center-backs:

“We talked about how we want to attack and defend. They (Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin) did a great job.”

The German trainer explained why Lamine Yamal made some angry gestures at the end of the game:

“It was due to his emotions from certain situations. He tried, tried, tried, but couldn’t score… He always kept trying. When you have the ball, he’s always available, and that’s good for me. I have nothing to criticize him for.”

Hansi Flick was clear that the decision not to give a red card to Gerard Martin was the correct one:

“From what I saw, he clears the ball. For me, it wasn’t a penalty. I haven’t seen the replay, but for me, he gets the ball.”

Despite him being the game-winner, the Barcelona coach was not talking about Robert Lewandowski’s renewal:

“Thinking about his contract feels very far away to me. There are eight games left, and nothing is done. It’s his job and the staff’s job to handle that.”

Similarly, he wanted Marcus Rashford to continue showing his quality before the end of his loan:

“It’s too early; we have to do our work. I’m happy with Marcus—he showed his quality, and I’m happy he scored. Now he can prove his quality, and he has to keep showing it.”

Once again, the German coach refrained from talking about other teams:

There is no doubt that this was a great win for Hansi Flick and Barcelona. But now, they have another challenge awaiting them as they once again face Atletico Madrid in their next match in the UCL.