‘It has certainly been a crazy match‘ — Hansi Flick reacts after Barcelona beat Newcastle United 7-2 in UCL | OneFootball

FC Barcelona were back at their attacking best as they hosted Newcastle United in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 game, and emerged winners with a 7-2 scoreline, winning the tie with an aggregate score of 8-3.

This performance would definitely have once again excited the Blaugrana fans, especially as winning the UCL is one of the main objectives this season. Hansi Flick himself was quite pleased with this match, and as Diario AS has reported, expressed this pleasure as he talked to the press after the game.

The German coach believed his team made the difference in the second half:

“It has certainly been a crazy match. I think we weren’t sharp in the first half, but we were better in the second half. The 3–2 allowed us to get back into the game before halftime, and that was important.”

The Barcelona coach did not appear too concerned with the problem suffered by Joan Garcia:

“It doesn’t seem serious, but we have to wait.”

Flick highlighted how the team changed after the half-time break:

“We played too directly in the first half. They are good in transitions, and we weren’t doing it well. We managed to control the game more in the second half.”

Further commenting on how he instructed his team to change their playing style in the second half, the German trainer said:

“The first half was very tough. We knew they would press. We scored two goals, but we had many ups and downs. We made it 3–2, and at halftime, I told the players that we were playing forward all the time. I told them we had to press them, then control the ball and be direct when we could. And it worked.”

The Barcelona coach confirmed that the team has a day off after this win:

“Yes, they have earned it.”

Despite the scoreline, Flick appeared a bit unsatisfied with the defense:

“We will analyze the match, obviously. In recent matches, I think we have played better in defense, even though we’ve had injuries. In any case, today we improved in the second half. It was more difficult for them.”

The German tactician was not thinking about winning the UCL just yet:

“The next round will be very difficult. We have to go step by step, match by match. That’s what we did last season and what we will try to do this one.”

The Barcelona coach highlighted one aspect that pleased him the most from this game:

“The best thing? The players did what we asked of them at halftime. For me, it’s fantastic to see how they try to improve and how they follow our idea.”

Hansi Flick clarified that the players decide among themselves on who would take penalties:

“Whoever feels good. They decide among themselves, and I think that’s fine.”

Robert Lewandowski scored a brace in this match, and the German coach was happy for the Pole:

“It hasn’t been an easy situation because he and Ferran are judged by goals. I’m happy he scored again. I’m glad he scored in the Champions League. We have many very important players for us. He has experience and is a great goalscorer. His first goal, against a strong defense like Newcastle’s, was impressive.”

The Barcelona manager did not give any specific information about Joan Garcia and Eric Garcia’s situations:

“We have to wait until tomorrow. The club will give the information.”

Flick was happy with the maturity shown by the youngsters in the team:

“What I’ve seen from the first day is that. Already in the 2024 preseason, we had very young players, and they love to compete. La Masia has done a great job in that regard.”

With this win, Hansi Flick takes another step towards achieving one of his objectives with Barcelona. However, now he will have to ensure his team gets the better of Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals to make their way to the next round of the competition.