Hansi Flick expressed his discontent over what he believed was an obvious foul leading up to Girona’s winning goal, but he quickly clarified that he didn’t wish to dwell on it as an excuse following Barcelona’s surprising 2-1 loss at Montilivi on Monday.
Fran Beltrán scored the decisive goal in the 86th minute after Thomas Lemar had equalized for Barcelona following an opening goal by Pau Cubarsí. However, Barça players felt that Claudio Echeverri had committed a foul on Jules Koundé in the lead-up to the goal.
This defeat dropped Barça to second place in LaLiga, two points behind the new leaders, Real Madrid.
When asked if he felt Beltrán’s goal should have been annulled, Flick replied, “I don’t want to focus on that. Everyone saw what occurred before the second goal, but Girona earned their win. We defended poorly, especially during transitions—we were far too exposed, and our midfield was not positioned well.”
“The foul was undeniable, but it is what it is. I would have more to say if we had played well, but our performance wasn’t up to par,” he added. “I don’t want to come off as making excuses. We simply need to improve and get back to our best form.”
Just days before, Barcelona had submitted a formal complaint to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the Refereeing Committee (CTA) concerning what they viewed as inconsistent officiating standards, following Cubarsí’s disallowed goal against Atlético Madrid.
Despite this, Flick refrained from harshly criticizing the referee, even humorously suggesting that his players’ performances were equally subpar. “No complaints and no excuses,” he declared when pressed about the officiating. “They do their job. It may not always be perfect, but they were at the same level as we played, which wasn’t great.”
Barcelona’s loss to Girona worsened an already challenging week after they suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal last Thursday.
Initially, Barça had taken the lead at Montilivi, with Cubarsí scoring early in the second half after Lamine Yamal missed a penalty just before halftime.
However, Girona rallied after going behind and displayed impressive resilience in a thrilling and open match, with Lemar equalizing almost immediately after Cubarsí’s goal, and January signing Beltrán sealing the win late on.
“We are not in a good place right now,” Flick acknowledged. “I will give the team two days off to rest, which is crucial.”
“The players are exhausted. If we had exerted more control and made fewer mistakes, today’s game could have turned out differently. We created several opportunities, including a penalty in the first half, but things just didn’t go our way,” he added.
“It could be fatigue that affected us, but we need to maintain our ambition to win matches. It was essential to secure a win after losing to Atlético, but we were unable to do that.”
“Everyone is disappointed. We have time to regroup over the next two weeks without any midweek matches. We will train well and prepare for our next game on Sunday against Levante at Spotify Camp Nou. It’s vital that we fight hard and aim for the top spot in the table.”