Barcelona suffered a dramatic defeat on Saturday evening, conceding the winner in stoppage time to Atletico Madrid after dominating most of the match.
However, manager Hansi Flick was mainly positive about the defeat in the press room after the match and that message was echoed in the dressing room. Sport says Flick told his players they were back on track despite their defeat. He briefly mentioned some of the mistakes that were made on the winning goal, but tried to cheer them up.
Still, the message struggled to break through the disappointment. Several heavyweights in the locker room, such as Inigo Martinez, Pedri and Raphinha, were visibly down after the match, and Flick's team talk did little for them. Overall, morale is low, with Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski frustrated by their own form, and others such as Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araujo frustrated by their lack of minutes.
Flick emphasized a similar message during their planned recovery session on Sunday, but the German coach ended up speaking to his players for just a few minutes. The team needs a Christmas break and a break from football.
The past month has been disastrous for Barcelona in terms of their title hopes, but now a turning point awaits the Catalan giants. If Flick's message loses steam in January, it could be difficult for him to turn things around. His players responded against Atletico, but without results it meant little – at least in the eyes of the players.
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