Flick: Recreation 'modified completely' after early pink card

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick felt Eric García‘s early pink card was the turning level in Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to Monaco and insisted his aspect are sturdy sufficient to progress within the new-look Champions League.

García was dismissed after simply 10 minutes for a last-man problem earlier than targets from Maghnes Akliouche and George Ilenikhena, both aspect of Lamine Yamal‘s equaliser, earned the Ligue 1 aspect three factors on the Stade Louis II stadium.

The loss was Barça’s first defeat beneath Flick following a formidable begin to the marketing campaign which has to date yielded 5 successive wins in LaLiga.

“I believe we defended with loads of ardour,” the German coach stated in a information convention after the sport. “The objective from Lamine introduced us again to 1-1. We had probabilities. On the finish, we tried to remain within the sport with a compact defence, shut collectively, however you can too see that [Monaco] deliver loads of gamers in with big velocity. It was not straightforward to defend.

“After the pink card, the sport modified completely. The optimistic issues are we tried to defend as a crew and assault as a crew. We now have probabilities, however they deserve the 2-1 so we’ve to simply accept that.

“I’m not apprehensive. We now have to analyse this, however as I say to the crew now, ‘Heads up,’ as a result of they had been just a little upset within the dressing room.”

Barça host Young Boys of their subsequent Champions League sport on Oct. 1 and nonetheless need to play Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica and Atalanta, amongst others, within the competitors.

The brand new format will see the highest eight groups within the league section progress on to the round-of-16, with the perimeters ending between ninth and twenty fourth getting into a knockout spherical and 12 groups being eradicated.

Regardless of opening with a defeat to Monaco, Flick has no doubts that Barça will qualify for the following section.

“No,” he responded when requested if Thursday’s loss was additional proof that Barça have an issue with the Champions League having failed to succeed in the knockout rounds in two of the final three years.

“You see the scenario in the present day. After 10 minutes, the pink card. It modified completely our concept, our match plan. We now have to simply accept this. It occurs.

“I believe we’re sturdy sufficient to play a superb Champions League. We now have seven matches and I believe we are going to win many matches and on the finish we attain our targets.”

The sport modified when García hauled down Takumi Minamino after the previous Liverpool ahead intercepted a brief go from Barça goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen within the early phases of the match. Ter Stegen stated the error was a misunderstanding between the 2 and claimed Barça deserved a degree.

“Sure, for certain [the red card conditioned the game],” he advised reporters. “There was a misunderstanding in that scenario. I really feel unhealthy for Eric as a result of it has price him. Then we’ve to play for 80 minutes a participant down.

“It mustn’t have occurred, but it surely does occur infrequently in soccer. It hurts as a result of even with 10 males we confirmed up.

“The sport was not beneath management, however we confirmed up. On the finish of the day, we misplaced by one objective, the second, which got here from nowhere and wasn’t actually deserved in that second.”

Among the many positives in defeat for Barça was the return of Ansu Fati, who returned from damage to make his first look of the season.

“I noticed him within the final weeks of coaching and after we begin the preseason, I noticed him actually completely different,” Flick stated.

“I spent a while at Brighton final season and I noticed him in coaching and a match and right here he’s completely completely different. He is centered, he brings his high quality on the pitch. He wants a while now, however he’ll get this.”

Fati stays the youngest scorer within the Champions League at 17 years and 40 days outdated when he netted in opposition to Inter Milan in 2019, however he watched from the bench as teammate Yamal turned the second youngest to attain within the competitors at 17 years and 68 days outdated.

Yamal now has 4 targets and 4 assists in six video games in all competitions this season, which has seen opposing groups begin to double up on him or deal with him in a different way. In consequence, Flick eliminated him early in Monaco to save lots of him for Sunday’s journey to Villarreal in LaLiga.

“Lamine in the present day he tried so much,” Flick defined. “It was a tricky match for him, they [were] attacking him actually exhausting. That is the best way. He has to adapt to this. For Pau [Cubarsí] and him, [taking them off] was additionally to consider Sunday.”