‘It wasn’t easy…’ — Hansi Flick reacts after 1-0 defeat against Alaves | OneFootball

FC Barcelona had to suffer a 0-1 defeat as they returned to the pitch for a league match against Alaves after celebrating the triumph of their La Liga title. The Blaugranes were unable to register even a single shot on goal in this match, as the team seemed clearly affected by its two days of celebrations and the fact that Hansi Flick had opted for quite a few rotations in the starting lineup.

As SPORT has reported, the German coach was not fully satisfied with his team’s performance in this game, but still had some positive things to say as he addressed the press conference after the match.

The Barcelona coach highlighted the performances of some youngsters in particular:

Flick also identified some weaknesses showed by his team in this game:

“For me, in the first half we controlled the game. It wasn’t easy — they played hard — but that’s understandable because they are fighting to stay up. In attack we weren’t as good as we usually are. We wanted to win and reach one hundred points, but that won’t be possible… I also told this to the team: we will prepare for the next match.”

Alvaro Cortes made his debut in this game, and the German coach commented on his performance:

“He did very well, against very powerful forwards, and was very good in the air. I told him to have confidence and play the way he trains. He has been doing that for months, and that is what I want to see from young players.”

“He was also good on the ball. These players who train with us and play for Barça Atlètic deserve to play. It’s good to see these things, and this is the way things should be done.”

The Blaugrana coach justified giving La Masia players their chances to play with the first team:

“Everyone can see that when these players play, they love Barça and want to play for Barça, just like the coaches do. It’s something special, a special connection. La Masia — players who have played together for many years — is something different, and it’s fantastic.”

Despite the defeat, Flick was taking some positives from this game:

“Of course I’m disappointed with the result because we lost, but we have to accept it. We played against an opponent that had so much at stake, and it was very difficult for us. We conceded the goal in the last minute of the first half, but what I had seen before that was positive — the way the young players performed, and the many minutes they had today.”

The German trainer also opened up on why he started with Wojciech Szczesny in goal:

Although there is very little left to play for Hansi Flick would still have to motivate his Barcelona team to put in a winning performance in the remaining two games of the season, while also planning on the club’s moves in the transfer market.