FC Barcelona added a new victory against Real Madrid in the United States (1-2) in their second friendly of the American tour. Hansi Flick's men won thanks to Pau Víctor's double in a fairly even match that showed the best of the culés in the first half. Despite the victory, the Barça coach used self-criticism, pointing out some aspects that continue to worry him about the team's functioning.
"In some situations we sink too deep and do not put pressure on the opposing player who has the ball. That cannot be and is a problem," the Heidelberg player began explaining. In that sense, he stated: "We have to focus on this and push for the 90 minutes." Clearly, the German coach is looking for a team that can maintain intensity regardless of the context and, to this end, physical work is being reinforced since the beginning of the preseason.
Flick was satisfied with a Barça that continues to improve
Despite the self-criticism, the coach valued the work of his players. "The team did improve. In addition to the good defensive work and apart from the problem of defending too far back, it is very nice to see what we do when we have the ball." Individually, he valued the work of his defenders, in addition to praising the 'MVP' of the match, Pau Víctor.
"Against City, Héctor started and Álex came on in the second half. He did a great job. He can play on the left and also on the right. Héctor and Balde also did a very good job, with a lot of efforts on the wing. I'm happy. "It's a preseason test and we did it well," Flick said. And, regarding the tour's top scorer, he added: "Two games, three goals, not bad. He knows how to score and that's good for a striker. The door is always open to the first team".
Hansi Flick's Barça begins to take advantage of the kids
Furthermore, the new Barça coach valued the youngsters' efforts in the summer. Against Madrid, Barça had seven players in their lineup with an average age between 17 and 22, a no small statistic considering that the goals, once again, fell on behalf of the reserve team. "It's fantastic to have these players who are 17, 16, 18... It's been a good opportunity for them to show what they can do," Flick said.