Barcelona defender reflects on Atletico Madrid and Girona defeats – ‘We have to do self-criticism’ | OneFootball

The past week has not been a pleasant one for Barcelona in any sense, for they have slipped to two straight defeats and complicated their positions in two competitions.

First, Hansi Flick’s men went down to Atletico Madrid with an embarrassing 4-0 scoreline, one that virtually knocks them out of the Copa del Rey barring a miracle in the reverse fixture.

Then, they went on to drop three points against Girona in La Liga and gave away the lead in the standings to Real Madrid.

Pau Cubarsi discusses recent form

Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi, who has been a central figure in both defeats, spoke to Mundo Deportivo in a recent interview where he explained what went wrong for the team on both nights.

He began by addressing the defeat at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano to Atletico Madrid, saying,

“Well, I think that in the first half they started with a lot of intensity and when they scored that early goal it upset our plans,” said Cubarsi.

“From there it was very difficult for us to be protagonists in the game,” he added.

The youngster also scored a quick goal after the restart in the second half on the night – one that proceeded to a ten-minute VAR intervention and in it being disallowed for a seemingly inexistent offside.

“Well, the truth is that no [I don’t understand it]. The only thing I know is that the break of almost 10 minutes cut off the good start of the second half that we had made!”

Pau Cubarsi calls for self-criticism after recent losses. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

“That goal would have allowed us to face the rest of the game with real possibilities of getting closer to the result,” he added.

He then admitted that coming back would not be easy, but insisted that there was still some optimism in the dressing room.

“We are a group that has already shown that we believe in comebacks and have carried them out.”

“We are going to try again with all our strength and with the support of our people who never fail us,” he added.

Cubarsi was then asked what the team’s approach would be in the second leg against Atletico Madrid, to which he calmly said,

“When the time comes, we will see it but we will follow the guidelines and the game plan that the coach sets for us and we will do it with all the commitment and desire possible as it cannot be otherwise.”

Finally, the young defensive phenom was asked about the team’s defeat to Girona earlier this week, and he admitted that the team had performed terribly.

“We have to improve. They can’t score these two goals. We played a bad game, we lacked a little bit of everything.”

“We have to do self-criticism and get our act together,” he added.