Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has admitted to highlighting a number of mistakes from his side in the post-match analysis of their comeback win over Celta Vigo. One of the players most criticised for his defensive efforts was Frenkie de Jong, who failed to read Borja Iglesias’ run accurately in the second half.
On a more positive note for Barcelona was the performance of Raphinha, who looked back to his best against Celta, with a brace and an assist. Flick highlighted his attiude as crucial.
Flick: “Fatigue? It’s something that has to be managed, it’s also important to have fresh legs against Mallorca.”
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 21, 2025
“It’s important that the whole team is very professional. I really have a team that are always focused on what they can improve and do better, also Raphinha and many players what they do on the pitch. He’s a leader, with this attitude, and we need players like him. I’m happy with what they are doing on the pitch, but also in training to prepare for the matches.”
A mistake from Frenkie de Jong sees Celta Vigo take the lead vs. Barca 😮 pic.twitter.com/L7YsCbgxBE
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 19, 2025
De Jong received no shortage of stick, as tends to be the case when Barcelona struggle, and while Flick’s criticism did not mention him by name, like Hector Fort and Ansu Fati, the Dutchman’s ears will have been burning after Monday’s press conference.
“We analyse this match today, and we show them how we want to do it. And sometimes when we have the ball, nobody thinks about losing the ball, and this is a very important thing about the rest defending. When you keep the ball, and you have possession, it’s important that you be able to change, to change the direction, that you were there. There was one – maybe four, five situations – that I was not happy with. And we showed them that.”
The Blaugrana are well in the crunch phase of their season, and having escaped Leganes with a clean sheet, have now conceded three goals in their last two games against Borussia Dortmund and Celta Vigo. With Marc Casado out injured, Flick will be forced to call on Eric Garcia if he wants to switch to a more defensive midfield, something he did in the Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid, albeit pushing de Jong further forward.
