"I didn't say anything to the referee" - Hansi Flick surprised by referee's decision to send him off in Barcelona's draw against Betis
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick expressed his surprise for being shown the red card during his side's draw against Real Betis on Saturday, December 7. The German said he was only angry at himself after Frenkie de Jong gave way a penalty that led to the opponent's equalizer.
Flick was also not sure if it was a penalty or not at that point and it was just his natural reaction. He said in the post-match press confrence (via GOAL):
"I didn't say anything to anyone, it was just my reaction. It was my reaction. It took me a long time to decide whether it was a penalty or not. If you need that much time, it could be a question. I don't agree with my expulsion. It's never happened to me before. But maybe it's something from here. I was angry with myself, not with anyone."
Barcelona took the lead twice against Real Betis but had to settle for a 2-2 draw. After Giovani Lo Celso canceled out Robert Lewandowski's opening goal, Ferran Torres gave the Catalan side the lead in the 84th minute. However, they could not hold on to the lead as Assane Diao scored in the 94th minute to equalize at the very end.
Barcelona did not play well against Real Betis, claims Hansi Flick
Hansi Flick was not a fan of how his Barcelona side played against Real Betis. He felt the Blaugrana were not good enough from the start.
Flick added that there was still room for improvement, saying that they were slow with the passes and there were too many long balls. He told the press (via GOAL):
"We played very badly from the start. It wasn't a good game. We're a young team and we need to improve a lot. We need to be stronger, especially when we play away. We have quality, but we have to show it in every game. We were slow with our passes, with a lot of long balls... it's not what we want or our strength. We have to focus on our strengths and on what we have to do."
Real Betis coped with Barcelona's high line well and weren't caught offside even once, which was a first for the Catalan side this term.