Hansi Flick was deeply disappointed after his team dropped points despite taking the lead twice. Although Barcelona dominated possession, their attack lacked sharpness. Meanwhile, Real Betis kept them on the back foot with continuous counter-attacks. Despite leading twice, Barcelona couldn’t secure a win, which left their coach frustrated.
On Saturday, Barcelona played a 2-2 draw against Betis in La Liga. Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres gave them the lead twice, but they couldn’t hold onto it. Giovanni Lo Celso’s successful penalty and Aissa Diao’s injury-time goal saw Betis fight back.
It could have been worse for Barcelona, but Betis missed numerous chances. In their last five league matches, Barcelona has only managed one win, with two draws and two losses. As a result, their lead over second-placed Real Madrid has narrowed, and they are now at risk of losing top spot. With 38 points from 17 matches, they currently lead, while Real Madrid, with one game less, has 36 points.
After the match against Betis, Flick expressed that there was much room for improvement. “It wasn’t a good match for us. Our team is young, and we have a lot of progress to make. This is what we must do. It depends on us; we have the ability to win every match, but we need to show it,” said Flick.
Questions have also been raised about Flick’s decision to make substitutions in the second half. He took off key players like Lewandowski, Raphinha, and midfielders Dani Olmo and Pedri. Flick explained that these changes were made with an eye on the upcoming Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
“I know about the substitutions, but we started the game very poorly. The first good phase we had was when Lewandowski scored (in the 39th minute),” Flick said. “I think after making the changes, we played better in the second half. Of course, we had to bring on fresh players, and that’s what we tried to do. We have a big Champions League match on Wednesday, so we had to consider that too.”
Brazilian forward Vitor, who is on loan at Betis from Barcelona, was awarded a penalty in the second half after being fouled by Frenkie de Jong. After a lengthy review by VAR, the referee awarded the penalty, which led to an angry reaction from Flick, earning him a red card.
Flick never expected to receive a red card. However, he refrained from taking any action against the referee’s decision.
“I didn’t say anything to anyone. It was just a reaction of my own. I have to accept it. I don’t want to talk about referees, I never do. I think it was just a spontaneous reaction because it took so long to check if it was a penalty or not. Since it took such a long time, I’m not sure if it was clear.”
He added, “I’m really disappointed (about the red card). I never thought something like this would happen to me. But here we are… I have to accept it.”
