Barcelona manager Hansi Flick launched a scathing criticism of his players after they surrendered a two-goal lead against Celta Vigo.
The Catalan giants were 2-0 up and cruising thanks to goals from Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, but had Marc Casado sent off with eight minutes to go and then inexplicably conceded twice in the space of two minutes to walk away with just a point.
After tasting defeat to Real Sociedad in their last La Liga game, Barca have once more gifted bitter rivals Real Madrid the chance to close the gap at the top of the table – Carlo Ancelotti’s side face Leganes on Sunday and a win would see them just four points adrift.
Madrid will also still have a game in hand on Barca, meaning the gap could be down to a single point should they pick up another win.
Flick, perhaps understandably, was not amused by his side’s implosion against Celta, lambasting the number of mistakes his team made throughout the game.
“Sometimes it happens that you see such a performance from a team,” Flick told reporters. “I [didn’t] expect that we [could] play really bad like that but it’s like this. We have to stand up and go forwards. It’s one match.
“Everyone said that Celta Vigo is difficult to play and you can see it today. At the end, it has to do with concentration and focus. Maybe sometimes it was too easy or they think it’s too easy to win, but it’s not easy. Everyone now wants to win against us and wants to play good against us.
“There were a lot of mistakes, a lot of bad passes, losing the ball, wrong decisions and that. It’s not about the red card. It’s not about Jules’ mistake. [It’s about] the whole team.
“It’s a result of how we played. We have to come back. When you are 80% or 85% or 90% you cannot win. It’s not so easy like that.”
Flick referenced the mistake made by Jules Kounde for Celta’s first goal – the France international allowing Alfon Gonzalez to race through on goal – and the 26-year-old, freshly linked with a big-money move to Chelsea, was quick to take responsibility for what he’d done.
“We weren’t at the level required for the whole game and in the end we have been punished — starting with me, because I did not have a good game,” Kounde admitted. “There was a lack of concentration on my part. In what should have been a simple play, I committed a huge error. That mistake has hurt us.
“It’s a learning curve for everyone. We have not played well in the last two games. We have to get back to our level. When things are going well, it’s really easy, but now we have to be united and focus on recovering our best form.”
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