Flick: Barcelona must ´eliminate mistakes´ to claim Champions League win

Barcelona’s recent form is a worry for Hansi Flick as they looked to end a two-match winless run against Brest in the Champions League.

Barca went on a remarkable seven-game winning streak through October and early November before stumbling to a 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad and a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo in LaLiga, with Lamine Yamal absent from both matches.

After losing their opening Champions League match to Monaco, Barcelona have since won three in a row, including a thumping 4-1 win over Bayern Munich.

Flick, who took charge in May, said his young squad need to learn to cope with adversity and that a positive result against Brest would be a good start.

“The important thing is to win and that is our focus for tomorrow’s game,” Flick told a press conference. “It’s about eliminating the mistakes, this is important. We have a lot of things we can do better with the ball and this is the focus.

“We have a young team, the youngest in LaLiga, and it’s not always an easy ride… It is important that the players know that they are good, that they have quality and that they have to stick together.

“We want to teach them and I always think positively. It’s a young team and during the season it’s normal to have times like this. For me, the important thing is to learn from it.”

Barcelona will again be without Yamal for their Champions League tie as he continues to recover from an ankle sprain, with the team having lost all three LaLiga games which he has not started this season.

HANSI FLICK on Lamine Yamal: pic.twitter.com/ndnqXM5A6D

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 25, 2024

He has been pivotal to the Blaugrana this campaign and is the only player across Europe’s big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).

“We all know how talented he [Yamal] is and how his quality on the pitch can impact a game,” Flick added.

“Lamine has a quality that allows you to have more control of possession but also makes the opponent give us more space.

“I think and hope that this will be the last game he misses because [on Monday] he was looking very good [in training] but we will have to wait. I hope that on Saturday he will be an option… maybe from the bench… but we’ll see.”

Defender Inigo Martinez backed his teammates to overcome Yamal’s absence.

“We know how important Lamine is… he gives us a lot, is a difference maker who pushes the defensive line back, he is aggressive, generates assists and a lot of fear in the opponent,” Martinez said.

“He is vital and very important, but that doesn’t mean that the next player to come on won’t be up to the similar level.

“Anyone who jumps in at Barcelona needs to be capable of playing at the highest level. The day that Lamine doesn’t play, and we win, this chat that we can’t win without him will vanish. We have enough [in the] squad to win every game.”