"You have to adapt to these situations" - Hansi Flick sends message to Lamine Yamal after Barcelona lose to AS Monaco
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has sent an encouraging message to teenage star Lamine Yamal after the Catalan side's 1-2 loss to Monaco in their UEFA Champions League opener on Thursday, September 19. Yamal scored Barca's only goal in the game, when the club was down 0-1, equalizing to make it 1-1.
In the 28th minute, Yamal received the ball from Marc Casado right outside the penalty box and shot on the left side of the net, making the score 1-1. The La Masia graduate's goal came after Barcelona were down to 10 men due to Eric Garcia's red card in the 10th minute.
Speaking about Lamine Yamal's performance in the game, Hansi Flick praised the youngster, and said (via Barca Universal):
“Lamine tried hard. It was a difficult match and you have to adapt to these situations. The substitution of Lamine and Cubarsi was more thinking about Sunday. They were very tired.”
La Blaugrana's 1-2 loss to Monaco marked Hansi Flick's first loss since taking over as head coach at the club. The German coach has led Barca to an impressive start in La Liga, securing five-out-of-five wins so far.
Barcelona will next face Villareal in La Liga on September 22, and will play their next UEFA Champions League game against Young Boys on October 2.
"We did not play at the highest level" - Hansi Flick made emphatic claim after Barcelona's 2-1 loss to Monaco
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Barcelona boss Hansi Flick reflected on what went wrong for the Catalan side. The coach said:
"The game changed after the red card [for Eric Garcia] after 10 minutes, causing us to change our idea and our planning. We tried at all times. We defended with passion but we made some mistakes. I saw many positive aspects of the game."
Flick continued:
"We had chances but in the end, they brought on fast players and they deserved to win. We did not play at the highest level or how we wanted to play. We have to accept that. I am sure that when other players return we will be stronger."
Flick spoke in terms of Barca's current injury woes, with many of their key players such as Ronald Araujo, Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong, Fermin Lopez, and Andreas Christensen remaining unavailable.
Flick added that he will be focusing on Sunday's La Liga clash against Villareal for now despite there being "disappointment" in the dressing room. Barcelona are currently at the top of the Spanish league with 15 points.