Barcelona’s Flick refuses to change style after UCL hiccup
The Spanish champions were held by Club Brugge
Barcelona were forced to settle for a 3-3 draw against Club Brugge on Wednesday night, leaving head coach Hansi Flick frustrated with his team.
The German coach admitted that Barcelona failed to impose themselves physically and tactically, allowing Brugge to exploit gaps between the lines.
The Blaugrana came from behind three times to secure a point, something Flick took as a small positive from an otherwise frustrating evening.
Speaking after the match in Belgium, Flick said: “It’s not just about defending in the back line, but also in midfield. We have to be attentive when they generate us in one or two touches. It is not easy, it is not easy at all.
“We did create several chances, but the truth is that they did very well. They have been very aggressive, logically on the positive side.
“The truth is that we were not able to press on the ball. We lost a lot of duels, many in midfield, that was important against such fast players.
“For us it’s about intensity when we’re without the ball. Above all, we must be attentive when they generate us with only one or two touches. I’m sure we’ll be able to improve it.”
Maintaining the High Line
Despite the defensive lapses throughout the night, Flick made it clear he intends to stick to his tactical principles rather than shift to a deeper setup.
“We can drop into a low block or stick to our philosophy and improve. When there’s no intensity, you have no options in the Champions League.
“But I’m not the type of manager to change. Brugge did very well, as I expected, and I told the players that. The 1-0, last year, would have been two meters offside. But we want to play with our ideas.
“3-3 is not the best result for us, but the positive thing about the game is that we managed to come back after they took the lead three times. But of course, we have to talk about this.”