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FLICK ALSO SPOKE ABOUT SZCZESNY

Hansi Flick 'is amazed' by his Barça... and sends a message to the club about Eric García?

Published:22/01/2025 - 03:28h

Updated:22/01/2025 - 05:05h

Hansi Flick was amazed by the level of his Barça after the brutal victory against Benfica. The German also talked about the situations of Eric García and Szczesny

Calendar of FC Barcelona

The FC Barcelona was the protagonist of one of those magical nights in the Champions League. The blaugranas achieved an epic victory against Benfica, turning around a scoreline that invited the worst of imaginations, and at the end of the match, Hansi Flick spoke to the media in a complete state of 'shock' over his team's comeback.

In front of the microphones of 'Movistar+', the German stated that "it was a crazy match. The best part was the mentality. This is football. I think I have never experienced a comeback like this. They are very good in transitions and scored against us. They forced us to defend very deep, as we were not well positioned. The substitutions helped us a lot".

"This is football. I think I have never experienced a comeback like this"

Despite being mathematically qualified for the round of 16, the ambitious blaugrana coach made it clear that "for us, it is now important to focus on Valencia and then on Atalanta. We are not thinking about being calm. We also want to win against Atalanta".

The keys to Barça's victory

Later, in a press conference, Flick revealed the keys to the epic comeback of Barça. "We had to change something, that's what we said at halftime, and that's the best takeaway from the match. The mentality of the players, believing in themselves. It has been excellent. I was already satisfied with a point, but with three it is even better", he stated.

"I think the most important thing is that we need time to train. We are making mistakes and that cannot be corrected with recovery sessions. It is tough for the coaches, but we have reached the round of 16 and that is important for us because it gives us a breather, precisely for that", he added.

Additionally, regarding the last play of the match where the Lisbon team claimed a penalty for a non-existent push inside the area on one of their players before Raphinha's goal, the German asserted that "I have not seen the last situation. It went to VAR and they decided against Benfica. It's part of football. I live in the now. It was a surprising finish. It has been an incredible match"

Szczesny's starting position and his continuity in goal

Regarding the decision to choose Wojciech Szczesny as the starting goalkeeper instead of Iñaki Peña, the German assured that "we analyze everything. Iñaki has done well. There is nothing against Iñaki, what I did was a decision for the team. We will see what happens on Sunday".

The culé coach also spoke about the performance of the Polish player, who despite making a couple of mistakes in the first half, made a couple of crucial saves in the second half that were key to the blaugrana's victory. "He made some mistakes in the first half. But like everyone. I do not speak in these situations about individual performances. Then he made important saves on Benfica's chances. We win together and lose together", he stated.

The importance of Pedri and the future of Eric García

When asked about the incredible match of Pedri González as the playmaker for Barça, Flick stated that "he always wants the ball, creates the right play, sees the spaces. And he is very important for us. And he provided the assist for the 4-4. He is capable of creating chances".

Finally, the coach referred to the performance of Eric García, who scored the goal for 4-4, and took the opportunity to send a 'message' to the board regarding the continuity of the '24' in the team. "Eric is an important player for us, and he is also one of the best headers we have in attack. And today he demonstrated it. He has a good mentality", he concluded.