“Responsibility of the defeat is on me,” Hansi Flick takes blame as Barcelona suffer first defeat in La Liga this season
After suffering a 4-2 defeat to Osasuna in La Liga and letting go of their 100% record in the competition, Hansi Flick took all of the blame.
Hansi Flick took all the blame for Barca's 4-2 loss to Osasuna (Via X/@FCBarcelona)
FC Barcelona have been in red-hot form in La Liga this season. The Blaugrana maintained their 100% record in the Spanish top flight up until they faced Osasuna on Saturday night. The League leaders suffered a 4-2 defeat as manager Hansi Flick rested most of his ‘important’ players. The result comes after seven straight wins in the competition.
For starters, Barcelona were without Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Alejandro Balde among others in the starting line-up. With several changes made to the squad, it was evident that Hansi Flick was looking to rest a number of his stars for the upcoming game against Young Boys in the Champions League. After the full-time whistle, Flick faced the press as he took responsibility for the embarrassing scoreline.
If you want to give someone the responsibility of the defeat, that’s on me. It’s my fault. I had to rotate some players. It was necessary.
Hansi Flick told the press after the defeat
Even though the German was not trying to find excuses, he did point out that the squad has been stretched thin owing to injuries. Flick said that it wasn’t easy playing with just three midfielders in the squad and a defender playing in midfield.
Osasuna demolish Barcelona 4-2 in La Liga
Barcelona had nowhere to hide as hosts CA Osasuna ran riot of them on Saturday night. The scoring was opened by Ante Budimir in the 18th minute when the forward headed home from close range. The visitors were trailing by two goals ten minutes later when Bryan Zaragoza magnificently rounded Inaki Pena before passing the ball into an empty net.
Barcelona somehow managed to get a foot back into the game through Pau Victor, whose quick thinking earned the first goal for Barcelona on the night. Minutes after his goal, the Spaniard was subbed off for teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. Raphinha and Alejandro Balde were also introduced in the coming minutes, although Flick’s substitutions failed to do the trick.
Budimir converted a penalty in the 71st minute before Abel Bretones scored a brilliant volley from far out. Despite conceding four, Yamal did his best to help, with the 17-year-old scoring a brilliant goal to reduce his team’s deficit to two goals. As things stand, Barcelona are still top of the table, with 21 points from their first 8 games. Rivals Real Madrid are 4 points behind with a game in hand and can reduce the gap to just one point with a win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Sherwin Shaju
(1096 Articles Published)