Flick unfazed by PSG and Madrid losses, says season is a 'very long road'

Hansi Flick is not fazed by Barcelona's back-to-back defeats, insisting it is "a very long road" ahead of their LaLiga clash with Alaves.

Barcelona had made a perfect start to the season, winning each of their first 11 games in all competitions, but last week, they were beaten 4-2 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League before going down 2-1 to rivals Real Madrid in a LaLiga Clasico.

Flick's side remain top of LaLiga despite Kylian Mbappe's late goal condemning them to a first league defeat of the campaign, but they now sit just two points ahead of second-place Atletico Madrid.

Injuries have also played their part in those two defeats, and Flick remains calm about their recent results, with all his focus on getting three points against Alaves.

"It's what I've always said: this is a very long road," Flick said in his press conference.

"Nothing is irreversible. We lost against Real Madrid, and nobody likes that, but we have to manage it, and as I said before, I think it was possible to win that game, and we had chances.

"But we have to accept the defeat and learn from it. We have Jules [Kounde] out, Xavi Espart, Dani Olmo, Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen… It's not easy to manage this, and we have to find solutions.

"For [Saturday], we're clear: the most important thing is the three points."

Alaves made a strong start to LaLiga, helping them to sit seventh after 10 games, but they are winless in their last six matches (D2 L4).

However, they have not gone seven or more games without a victory in the competition since January 2025 (P7 D4 L3).

While Barcelona are big scorers this season, netting 40 goals in total, Alaves may feel they have a chance, with the reigning champions also conceding in six of their games so far.

"Ultimately, defending isn't just the defenders' job; even the striker defends," Flick said when asked about their defensive fragility.

"Everyone is involved. To begin with, we can't lose the ball easily. We lost possession a few times against Real Madrid, which isn't good.

"It's something that happens to us often, and we need to play more intelligently, more focused. When we're defending in our own area, it's also important to mark our opponents well, and we didn't do that either.

"We have to improve in these situations. We train it, we take it into account, and we talk about it with the players."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Barcelona – Lamine Yamal

Lamine Yamal has scored 38 goals in 111 LaLiga appearances.

Only Mbappe (41 in 79 games) has netted more goals before turning 20 in Europe's big-five leagues in the 21st century.

Alaves – Lucas Boye

Lucas Boye is Alaves' top scorer in the 2026-27 LaLiga season with five goals but has played eight games in the competition against Barcelona without scoring.

Only against Celta Vigo and Sevilla (both 10) has he played more top-flight matches without netting a goal.

MATCH PREDICTION: BARCELONA WIN

Barcelona's 1-0 defeat in May of this year ended their longest unbeaten run against Alavés in LaLiga (16 games – W14 D2).

They have only lost consecutive games against them in the competition on one previous occasion (two defeats between 1999 and 2000).

However, Barcelona are overwhelming favourites to triumph on Saturday and have scored in each of their last 36 home games in LaLiga (108 goals), their longest scoring run at home in the competition since 2014 (56 games, 193 goals).

And Alaves are on their longest winless run away from home against Barcelona in LaLiga (P8 D1 L7), since a 2-1 victory in September 2016.

Barcelona have been trailing for the fewest minutes in LaLiga this season (43) and are one of five teams, alongside Levante, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad and Madrid, who have not dropped a single point from a winning position.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Barcelona – 80.8%

Draw – 11.3%

Alaves – 7.9%