Barcelona manager Hansi Flick offered no excuses for his side’s poor showing in a surprise 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad yesterday that ended their seven-match winning streak in all competitions. Flick praised their opponents’ performance and said Barca had to move on. Flick’s side are still top of the La Liga standings on 33 points, six ahead Real Madrid who have a game in hand in second.
“Today was not our day,” Flick told a press conference. “I think we have to accept this result because they played decisively. It’s clear, there are no excuses. We didn’t create enough chances. We started well with the ball, I was happy, but then we started to suffer and their goal came. We also made some bad decisions and that’s something we have to live with.”
Barca had scored in every single match they played until Sunday, but finished the game at San Sebastian with no shots on target. Real Sociedad created several chances and could have won by a wider margin following a series of bad mistakes by an erratic Barca defence, something that Flick thinks they will have to study carefully.
“The responsibility for the defeat is ours. We could and should have played much better,” Flick said. “We haven’t held possession of the ball the way we wanted and suffered. But the games we have played before have been fantastic and I appreciate what the team has done so far this season. “We tried until the last second, united, and I told the team that. But today we weren’t strong enough to deserve a better result.”
Lewandowski out for
10 days, Yamal up to
three weeks
Barcelona star forwards Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal have picked up injuries which have ruled them out of the international break, the La Liga leaders said.
Lewandowski suffered a back injury in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad during which he had a goal controversially disallowed. The 36-year-old will miss Poland’s upcoming Nations League games against Portugal and Scotland, but should be back for Barcelona’s next league outing at Celta Vigo on November 23.
Yamal missed Sunday’s game in San Sebastian with a right ankle injury and is expected to be out of action for between two and three weeks, the club said. The 17-year-old will miss Spain’s matches on Thursday in Denmark and next Monday against Switzerland, and Barca’s trip to Vigo.
He is also a doubt for the home Champions League game against Brest on November 26 and the following La Liga meeting with Las Palmas. Yamal has scored six goals in his 15 games this season, while Lewandowski has 17 in all competitions and is currently the top goalscorer in La Liga.
Barcelona are sixth in the Champions League with nine points. The Catalans are six points ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga but have played a game more than their title rivals.