Barcelona have returned to the top of La Liga with a 2-0 win at Las Palmas in Saturday night’s action.
La Blaugrana reacted to the title challenge thrown down by Atletico Madrid as Diego Simeone’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory at struggling Valencia.
Barcelona boss Hansi Flick was forced to rely on his bench late on in Gran Canaria as Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres scored after being omitted from the starting line up by the former Bayern Munich chief.
The visitors were kept at bay by Las Palmas in the opening hour before Olmo’s breakthrough and Torres’ intervention clinched the result.
At this point in the season, points on the board are the clear focus, but Flick was irked by Barcelona’s showing in the game.
Grit and individual quality got Barcelona over the line in an important game and Flick admitted it was not one of their most coherent performances of the season.
“We didn’t play a good game. But we won 2-0 and that’s good. With the three points, the road back to Barcelona is easier for us to face,” as per quotes from Marca.
“At half-time, I explained to the team what to do better in some situations and we talked about what wasn’t being done as we wanted.
“The players were good overall. We’re very happy with the three points gained, but not so much with the performance. We’re back as leaders of La Liga, and in the end we want to progress in the race, but also to be better.”
Barcelona now face a quick turnaround as they fly back to Catalonia ahead of a Copa del Rey semi final first leg at home to Atletico Madrid on February 25.
That is followed by a home league clash with Real Sociedad on March 2 before the return of the UEFA Champions League.
