"He's a leader" - Hansi Flick heaps praise on 'incredible' Barcelona star after 1-0 Getafe win
Hansi Flick heaped praise on Barcelona defender Jules Kounde following his side’s 1-0 victory against Getafe in La Liga on Wednesday, September 25. Flick was in awe of Kounde’s impressive display at the right-back position and reckons that the Frenchman is a leader.
Barcelona continued their perfect start to the 2024-25 campaign in La Liga. They secured a nail-biter victory against fellow Spanish side on Wednesday to maintain their position on the league table. They secured a ninth successive home league victory in the process. Since Hansi Flick took over the managerial reins at the Catalan club this summer, they are yet to lose or draw a match in La Liga.
In the match against Getafe, Kounde was one of the players who stood out. The French defender was solid in defense and at the same time prolific in attack, as he assisted the team’s only goal for Robert Lewandowski. He also had some good battles with Getafe striker Christantus Uche.
Kounde won 9/12 duels, made two clearances, completed 54/64 passes, made one key pass and completed 2/4 dribbles. After the match, Hansi Flick admitted that he was stunned by the defender's performance. He said (via Fabrizio Romano):
"Jules Koundé is just incredible! He's always 100% ready. I have never thought about changing him during matches. He's a leader."
Jules Kounde on Barcelona and Hansi Flick after Getafe win
Jules Kounde also gave his assessment of Barcelona's narrow victory against Getafe while also heaping praise on his side. Flick’s men had a very frightening experience in the last minutes of the game as José Bordalás’ men came close to snatching an equalizer.
Barcelona, however, did everything possible to secure their lead and eventually took all three points at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. After the match, Kounde reflected on the equalizing scare. He said (via Mundo Deportivo):
"Sometimes it happens, you can't always win with a big difference of goals. The important thing is that we created chances again and we took another three points, because Getafe is always a difficult team to handle."
When asked if his team suffered, he said:
"I don't know, apart from the last ten or five minutes, which is normal when you only win 1-0 and the opponent sees it as possible and presses a little harder. But we played a good game, we controlled and we had chances to score more, although today we didn't score."
He also spoke about life under Hansi Flick, praising the German’s managerial prowess and saying the players are enjoying him. He said (via Fabrizio Romano):
“We can see since day one that Hansi Flick is a world class coach. We as players are enjoying the training sessions and the matches under Flick, for sure.”
Barcelona will next face Osasuna away in La Liga on Saturday, September 28.