Hansi Flick: I don't know if Lamine will be ready for El Clásico

Hansi Flick's press-conference ahead of Barça – Sevilla.

Hansi Flick:

“We know Sevilla very well; they play with great intensity. They have fantastic fans, and it will definitely be a difficult match.”

“Lamine is better than yesterday, but he’s still not fully fit. If a player isn’t well, he doesn’t play, simple.”

“The situation with Luis de la Fuente? It was about the last international break. My position was to protect the player, but it’s over now — it happened. From my point of view, it’s finished. These things happen in football. It’s not easy for the Spanish coach, nor for me, but I want to protect my player.”

“I don't know if Lamine will be ready for El Clásico. It's a complicated injury; it's not easy to say whether he can play in two or three weeks. We'll take it step by step.”

“Marc Bernal called up by Spain U21? I don’t think he is ready to play many minutes… I'm not sure what they want to do with him. Whether it's me or the federation, we have to take care of him because he’s coming back from a serious injury. In training sessions, we can see he’s still not at 100%.”

“The match against Sevilla tomorrow is important. We’re still upset about the loss against PSG, so we need to play better and be smarter in certain situations. Stay structured, play as a unit — that’s what we’ll do.”

“Our idea is to press our opponents, it’s crucial and part of the Barça mentality. We can do it better in certain situations. When it’s structured, we do it well, but if there’s no pressing, the line is too high. We have to improve and train for this every day, it’s a process and that’s normal. It’s not just about the players, the staff too, we’re one team. The club, the fans, we must all be united. Last year that was the key to success. Everyone must know what to do to win and not focus only on themselves. That’s the key to winning titles.”

“Luis de la Fuente’s comments about my lack of empathy? I just want to protect my players. We have to think about them, that’s all. For me, it’s over, we have to think about other topics now and move forward.”