"It is easy to pin the blame for Barcelona's defeat to Chelsea on a single player, but the fact of the matter remains that even with eleven men on the field, Barcelona did not show enough to prove that they could have taken all three points. The Catalans lacked intensity across the field, failed to press high, and lost the midfield battle by a landslide - all of which contributed to the defence being overloaded. Not for the first time this season, they faltered heavily in a big game."
"Hansi Flick himself admitted ahead of the Alaves game that the defeat midweek had affected the team and that it is a difficult pill to swallow, not only because they lost but because of the manner in which they did. Tomorrow's primary agenda, thus, will be to get back on winning ways whatever the cost. The team will play at the Spotify Camp Nou once more, and there will thus be a special atmosphere, but it is critical that they are not hung up on the midweek result."
Barcelona returned from London morally and internally broken after a midweek defeat that left them with dropped points. The team has not shown this season the temperament required to win big games, suffering from low intensity, weak pressing, and being overwhelmed in midfield which overloaded the defence. Hansi Flick remains confident that the best version of the team is yet to come and acknowledged the defeat affected the squad. A home match against Deportivo Alaves on Matchday 14 offers a chance to recover, close the gap to Real Madrid, and rebuild momentum under Flick's mentorship.
Read at Barca Universal
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