Flick Calls Hour-Long Crisis Meeting as Barça Look to Stop the Bleeding
After back-to-back defeats to Atlético and Girona, Hansi Flick gathered his Barça squad for an exhaustive film session before training resumes.
Barça are back in work mode — but not before sitting through what must have felt like a proper school detention after two absolutely diabolical results.
The Reset Button Gets Pressed
After the 2-1 defeat at Girona on the weekend, Hansi Flick gave his players 48 hours off to clear their heads. Smart move, that. No point hammering a dressing room full of rattled lads when emotions are still running hot. But when everyone rocked back up to the Ciutat Esportiva on Thursday morning, there was no easing back in gently.
Flick gathered the squad for over an hour — before they even laced their boots — to go through a thorough, forensic breakdown of where it’s all gone wrong in their last two matches.
What’s Gone Wrong
The numbers don’t make for pretty reading:
- 6 goals conceded across the last two games
- A 4-0 hammering against Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg — a result that’s left them with an absolute mountain to climb
- A 2-1 defeat at Girona that’s cost them top spot in La Liga
- Goalkeeper Joan García matched his own personal record for saves in a single match — which tells you everything about how exposed the backline has been
It’s not just the goals going in, either. Barça have been leaking chances at an alarming rate, and their own end product has been well below the standard we’ve come to expect from Flick’s side this season. It’s a proper double whammy — dodgy at the back, toothless up front.
Back on the Training Pitch
Once the video session wrapped up, the squad headed outside to begin preparing for Sunday’s La Liga fixture against Levante. That game suddenly feels a lot more important than it might have done a fortnight ago — they need a response, and they need it sharpish.
The one bit of breathing room Flick has got? No Champions League commitments this week or next. Barça sealed a direct spot in the last 16 by finishing in the top eight of the league phase, so there’s no midweek European distraction to worry about. That gives the German gaffer a full week on the training ground to get his ideas across and hopefully get his side back to something resembling their best.
The Bigger Picture
A couple of bad results doesn’t mean Barça are in crisis — let’s not get carried away. But losing the league lead and being on the ropes in the Copa in the space of a few days is a proper wobble, and how they respond against Levante will tell us a lot about the character of this squad.
Flick clearly isn’t the type to let things fester. An hour of honest, uncomfortable home truths before training even starts? That’s a manager who knows exactly what he’s doing.