Eric Garcia highlights Barcelona’s defensive and offensive issues after Real Sociedad loss | OneFootball

FC Barcelona suffered a rather undeserved 2-1 defeat to Real Sociedad in La Liga last night. The far superior team, it was a night when Hansi Flick’s men simply could not finish to save their lives.

It was a match that made headlines for all the wrong reasons. As so often with a game involving Barcelona and Gil Manzano, there was refereeing controversy that both Flick and Frenkie de Jong commented on.

Speaking to the club’s official YouTube channel after the match, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Eric Garcia questioned the clarity of the image used by VAR to justify the decision, while stopping short of directly criticising the officials:

The 25-year-old also revealed how Flick has been working to keep the squad focused amid recurring refereeing frustrations:

“We already know how this is. Flick insists on it a lot, and we know that, even if decisions don’t go our way, we have to focus on ourselves. And even so, we played well and had enough chances to win the game.”

From a footballing perspective, Garcia felt the result did not reflect Barcelona’s superiority on the night:

“It’s a game you should win comfortably and easily, and in the end, you lose it, but that’s football. We just have to keep going. The team played a good game, and we dominated. In the second half, it’s true there was a moment when they pushed more, but overall we were good.”

However, he also acknowledged areas that need urgent improvement, particularly in both boxes:

“We had many chances, but we conceded two crosses into the box, and that’s something we need to improve both offensively and defensively.”

Garcia then turned his attention to the immediate future, urging his teammates to respond in the Champions League when Barcelona face Slavia Prague on Wednesday:

“It’s something we need to improve ahead of the Champions League match on Wednesday against Slavia Prague. You make it 1–1, and in the very next play, they make it 2–1… It was a hard blow. We tried until the end, we hit another post through Koundé, and there’s not much more to say, really.”

Despite Barcelona’s defensive frailties at the Reale Arena, Eric Garcia was imperious yet again. He hardly put a foot wrong and, along with Balde, it looks as if the left side of the defence is well covered between them.

What is a concern is the poor form of Jules Kounde and the comparatively milder struggles of Pau Cubarsi, which are making the right side of the defence a liability. It remains to be seen how Hansi Flick addresses this issue in the weeks to come.