Barcelona dealt setback as Hansi Flick handed touchline ban for Real Madrid match | OneFootball

FC Barcelona got a hard-fought win over Girona last night, which not only ended their two-game losing run from before the October international break, but also brought them to the summit of the La Liga table, with Real Madrid yet to play their matchday 9 game against Getafe.

It was a highly dramatic game between the two regional rivals. The Blaugranes were the first to draw blood with a Pedri strike, but the visitors recovered quickly, drawing level only a few minutes later.

The scoreboard did not see any changes for the next seventy minutes, and Barcelona got the winning goal only in injury time, through Ronald Araujo, who was playing as a striker.

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

However, before Araujo’s late heroics, there was another major talking point. Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick was sent off in the final minutes after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession for protesting referee Jesus Gil Manzano’s decision to add only four minutes of stoppage time.

The German coach was visibly frustrated, feeling that the limited added time was not enough given the game’s intensity and the missed opportunities that had gone against his team.

Flick was reportedly angered by other refereeing decisions, including a disallowed goal from Pau Cubarsi following a foul by Eric García, and a possible penalty incident involving Rashford that went unpunished.

As a result of the red card, as per Mundo Deportivo, Hansi Flick will be suspended for the upcoming La Liga clash against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, a fixture that could prove pivotal in the title race.

His absence on the touchline will present a tactical challenge for Barcelona, who will need to face their biggest rivals without their manager’s guidance from the bench.

This marks Flick’s second sending-off as Barcelona coach. The first came last season in a match against Real Betis, when he was shown a red card for leaving his technical area to protest a penalty decision against Frenkie de Jong after a VAR review.

There is no doubt that this could turn out to be a big loss for Barcelona, but hopefully, the team will be able to cope with this situation in the upcoming El Clásico.