Hansi Flick responds to criticism over Robert Lewandowski and changes | OneFootball

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has explained that his side needed to clear their mind this week, after losing to Leganes last Sunday. Generally managers tend to reward their players with days off after wins, but Flick allowed his side two days off this week anyway.

The Blaugrana coach felt that the heavy schedule required some time off for his players. One of the factors in their drop-off has supposedly been fatigue.

“We had three weeks with no days off, so I think we made the decision after the game. We needed to clear the mind. We saw the training was really good these few days, so I think it was the right decision.”

Flick was also criticised on Sunday for removing Robert Lewandowski with half an hour to go against Leganes, as the Blaugrana looked to break through. Ferran Torres’ form was key to making the call.

“When you make a decision, a lot of things can happen. We had a lot of chances in the first half, not so much in the second. But also Ferran was doing well in the matches before, so it was a decision we made. It’s our job to make the decision, and you can discuss it after.”

The Catalan side have taken just five points from their last six Liga games, and face an Atletico side that are coming off the back of 11 straight wins. Meanwhile Diego Simeone is looking to break a run of never having beaten Barcelona in the Catalan capital in La Liga.