‘Responsibility for the loss is ours’… Hansi Flick reacts to Barcelona’s 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad | OneFootball

It was not a night to remember for FC Barcelona as the Blaugranes fell to a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad on Sunday. The Blaugranes played significantly below the level the fans have come to expect of them, and it was clear they were missing their talisman in attack, Lamine Yamal.

Even Hansi Flick was far from the calm and composed personality that he has shown himself to be since arriving at FC Barcelona. The coach was clearly nervous as the game approached its end, and even got into heated exchanges with the referee and opposition players.

However, although he had recovered his composure as he spoke to the press after this game, Mundo Deportivo reports that he was still unhappy with a refereeing decision in this game, which ruled out a Barcelona goal for offside. Talking about his interaction with the referee, the German coach said:

“I told the referee it was a bad decision, but I know it’s not his fault… I wasn’t very angry. Just a little. If it had been allowed, it would have been a different game for us.”

But despite this officiating error, Flick was also clear that his side was far from their best level:

“It certainly wasn’t our day. We have to accept this result; I think they played with determination… It’s clear what we saw, and there are no excuses—we didn’t create enough chances. We started very well with the ball. I was pleased, but then we began to struggle, and their goal came. In the final third, we made poor decisions.”

“I think the responsibility for the loss is ours; we could have played much better. We were good in the first 15 minutes. It’s a defeat, but the games up until now have been fantastic. I appreciate what the team has done. We finished the game together, but we couldn’t win; we weren’t strong enough.”

There is no doubt that Barcelona have been playing very well this season, and hopefully, this defeat to Real Sociedad was only a minor blip in their form. The Blaugranes now have a two-week break, as players leave for their international teams, and Hansi Flick will hope to get back to winning ways after returning from this break.