Hansi Flick said he was drowning out the noise of pundits and former players after Robert Lewandowski’s hat-trick helped Barcelona beat Celta Vigo 4-2 to move within three points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.
Barcelona had won just three of their previous seven matches before Sunday’s trip to Balaidos, with their 3-3 draw with Club Brugge in midweek intensifying criticism of Flick’s decision to play in such a high defensive line.
That streak was breached again twice in a thrilling first half in Vigo, but Barcelona produced a dominating performance after the break to secure a much-needed win heading into the international break.
“I always think about saying something about experts, former players and coaches, but no, I won’t do that,” Flick smiled in his post-match press conference when asked if the second half was an example of how he executes his style of play.
“I’m going to give you a lot of things to talk about, and that’s a lot of noise!
“But, yes, for me it is. We will analyze this match as we analyze every match and try to improve things. This is our job. Not everything was good; we will talk about this.”
“For me, the most important thing is that (the players) have confidence and belief in what we are doing, and the second half is a good example of how we want to do that.”
The first half from end to end was no different to Barcelona’s midweek draw in Belgium. Celta came from behind twice to cancel out two goals scored by Lewandowski – the first from a penalty kick and the second from close range after a Marcus Rashford cross – through Sergio Carrera and Borja Iglesias.
Lamin Yamal restored Barcelona’s lead before half-time, and Lewandowski, who started for the first time in more than a month, completed a second-half hat-trick with a header from another Rashford pass to seal the points.
Flick added: “Yes (I am satisfied).” “I appreciate a lot of what I saw today. Right now, especially in the first half, we made some mistakes, more than in the second half, and they are taking advantage of that. Two mistakes in the goals.
“But what you saw, also in the first half, was that we controlled the game. It was a really good game with the ball and especially in the second half, we defended much better.”
“I think the second half also gives us confidence for the next matches. That’s what we need. When you can put pressure on the opponent, that’s a good way. We did that. I like what I saw, especially in the second half.”
With this victory, Barcelona is three points away from Real Madrid, who drew 0-0 with Rayo Vallecano earlier on Sunday, providing more motivation for the team. Blaugrana Players before the match.
“It was one of the craziest matches this season, especially in the first half,” Lewandowski told reporters. “We scored three goals and conceded two, but I am very happy because we won a very difficult match.
“We knew that if we won today, we would close the gap with Real Madrid to three points. But it’s not just that, we always want to be ready. We know we have to do some things better, but it’s important throughout the season to see what we can do better.”
Despite missing a large portion of the season due to injury, Lewandowski has now scored seven goals in just 449 La Liga minutes.
He added: “Of course I am very happy, not only with my goals but with the way we played.” “Today we played as a team. I also think this type of match is important.
“After what happened in Rayo, we said this is very important to get back into the race (for the title). This type of match helps us a lot and gives us more strength for the next matches.”
Barcelona’s win was slightly affected by Frenkie de Jong’s late red card for the second booking. As a result, the Dutch midfielder will miss the match against Athletic Bilbao after the international break, leaving Flick short in midfield.
Pedri is also a doubt for that match due to injury, while Marc Casado was withdrawn from the squad in Vigo minutes before kick-off after sustaining a knock in the warm-up. He will undergo tests on Monday.
