Flick lauds ´brilliant´ Barcelona adaptation ahead of Clasico showdown

Hansi Flick hailed his “brilliant” Barcelona players as they look to further their advantage at the LaLiga summit against rivals Real Madrid on Saturday.

Flick watched on as he helped his side end a run of six-straight Champions League defeats against Bayern Munich with a stunning 4-1 victory in midweek.

Barcelona are now unbeaten in their last four games in all competitions, scoring 17 goals in those matches, but they face a stern test at the Bernabeu to keep that run going.

Los Blancos produced an equally impressive Champions League display, coming from two goals down to beat Borussia Dortmund 5-2, inspired by Vinicius Junior’s hat-trick.

Flick will be managing his first competitive game as a coach against Real Madrid, and has been impressed with his side’s ability to understand his way of playing.

“We have our ideas. Our philosophy is to press high and make it hard for the opponent to play out. Too much space between the lines doesn’t work for us,” Flick said.

“The players are brilliant and continue to adapt from game to game.

“The changes have worked, I believe in the team, they have so much quality and that’s what we want to see.”

Flick will also be looking to become the first Barcelona coach since Gerardo Martino in 2013 to win their first official Clasico.

We’re ready for #ElClásico! pic.twitter.com/GGJm6w9zsg

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 26, 2024

The Barcelona coach also heaped praise on Lamine Yamal for his performances this season, with the 17-year-old preparing for his fourth Clasico against Real Madrid.

Yamal made his 10th start in the Champions League in Barca’s win over Bayern, becoming the youngest player at the time of doing so in the competition’s history (17y 102d).

He has also impressed in LaLiga this term, notching 10 goal involvements (four goals, six assists), a total only bettered by Robert Lewandowski (14) in the division.

“Specifically for the game against Bayern I wanted him to do one thing among many that he needed to do, which was to press (Alphonso) Davies from the last line into midfield because we knew how important he was when he started to attack,” Flick said.

“Yamal is a fantastic player with the ball, you could all appreciate that against Bayern.

“It’s an honour to see what Lamine did for all of us and it’s important that he can improve as a defender. And he’s doing that very well.”