Angry Hansi Flick claims Barcelona were ‘only at 50%’ in Mallorca win | OneFootball

Hansi Flick enjoyed a routine return to La Liga action as Barcelona’s title defence started with a 3-0 win in Mallorca.

Barcelona were given more than a helping hand by their frustrated opponents with two first half red cards.

Manu Morlanes earned a first caution for arguing with the officials over the decision to allow Torres goal to stand and his lunge at Lamine Yamal signalled the end of his night in Palma.

Vedat Muriqi’s situation simply deepened Mallorca’s strife, as he caught Eric Garcia, and effectively left the hosts with no chance of getting back into the game in the second half.

It’s difficult to gauge Barcelona’s level from this result, as they played over a half of the action with a two player advantage, and Flick made that point in his post match comments.

Image via Aoil/Diario AS

“I didn’t like the match. These are three important points, but after going 2-0 up, and with the two red cards, I think my team played at 50%.

“That can’t happen. I need to talk to the players about this. You can’t play at 50% against nine players, that’s not what I expect.”

Next up for Barcelona are two away games, at Levante and Rayo Vallecano before the end of August, and Robert Lewandowski’s return date is unclear.

Flick faces Rashford v Torres selection call

Torres or Rashford is the main call for Flick for both of those games, if he opts against rushing Lewandowski back, following a muscle injury.

The nod went to Torres for this tie, as it was probably expected to, despite Rashford’s strong preseason form.

The noise around getting Rashford’s registration done was the deciding factor as Flick wanted to avoid loading unneeded pressure onto his new man.

The England star replaced Rashford with 20 minutes to go, and after a low key cameo, the hunch would be to start Torres at Levante next weekend.