Barca Left Licking Their Wounds After UCL Exit With La Liga Title Within Reach

Hansi Flick has enjoyed a hugely successful debut season in charge at Barcelona, who have had to endure a campaign away from their Camp Nou home, but the manner in which Inter Milan defeated them in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals has stung the German boss.

Having drawn 3-3 at home, Barcelona came from two goals down to lead 3-2 at the San Siro, looking destined to make it to the UEFA Champions League Final since 2014/15, before disaster struck. Inter Milan leveled late on through defender Francesco Acerbi and then secured an extra-time winner through Davide Frattesi to burst Flick’s bubble.

However, Barcelona fans should not despair. Their side have already won a Copa del Rey triumph, completed thanks to a 3-2 win over arch-rivals Real Madrid and are also well placed to complete a domestic double, which should help put their narrow loss in Italy into some perspective.

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Flick, who arrived at FC Barcelona last May, has enjoyed his debut season but was not impressed by the standard of refereeing during his side’s 4-3 loss in Italy, commenting on the officials in less than glowing terms.

“I don’t want to say too much about the referee. It wouldn’t be fair to my team, who gave it their all. I already told him what I thought of his performance,”

“Every 50-50 call went in favour of the Italian side,” he added before praising his team’s attitude and display.

“Of course they’re disappointed after the match. We have to accept it—it’s football—but we can be proud of our performance. I am proud,”

“We’re out, but we’ll be back. Hopefully next year we can play at home with an atmosphere like today’s,” Flick added, in reference to a long-awaited return to this Camp Nou home.

If there was a complaint to make over the course of the two games, it would naturally relate to their defending, and it’s a point Flick also touched upon, while also singling out teenage wonderkid attacker Lamine Yamal’s form over the course of both legs of the engrossing semi-final.

“We have exceptional players, with Lamine Yamal, who is a genius. But it’s the team that is the most important thing. We need all our players to be at their best,”

“We have to defend better and change a few things. We all have to be involved in our defensive tasks,” Flick concluded.

Flick echoed much of the same message on their defending after Barcelona beat Real Madrid on Sunday, but will have been relieved to see his side respond with a 4-3 win that more or less wraps up La Liga. The experienced manager, who won it all during his spell at Bayern Munich and also spent two years in charge of the German national team, has confirmed he is already thinking about how to improve their backline ahead of next season.