After the match, Flick met with president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco to discuss the matter. They all agreed not to overestimate the importance of a match that was heavily conditioned by such an early sending off. They felt that the team had to learn from its mistakes, but that there was a greater margin for error in the Champions League than in La Liga.
That’s according to MD, who claims that Flick reassured the dressing room and was happy with his attitude after the sending off. He is also happy that the clash against Villarreal is imminent, which allows for immediate reaction.
Flick’s criticism of his team
However, according to Portera de Nunez’s account, Flick told the Barcelona team to ” think about what they did wrong or what they could do better.”
The German coach also encouraged his players to ”
play easily and take as few risks as possible
“His post-match speech was without shouting or anger, despite his earlier irritation.
Flick has so far been a paragon of composure, at least in public, and has added an air of common sense and seriousness to the Blaugrana this season. Despite the continued noise off the pitch that has been a constant at Barcelona for the past five years, Flick has managed to focus on football so far. The defeat to Monaco was his first setback, however, and the mood could shift dramatically if they were to suffer a defeat against an in-form Villarreal this Sunday night.
