Spanish media piles into Barcelona after shock home loss to Las Palmas signals end of Hansi Flick’s honeymoon period

Hansi Flick's honeymoon with Barcelona seems to be over.

He had started so well. Barça started the season with seven straight wins in La Liga.

This was followed by a 4-2 defeat at Osasuna at the end of September, but Barcelona recovered with a further seven consecutive victories in all competitions, including a 4-0 away win in the Clasico at Real Madrid.

However, Flick has since failed to record a win in three straight league matches after seeing his side beat Las Palmas 2-1 at home on Saturday.

That defeat followed a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo and a 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad.

“Everything has fallen apart in three games and no one knows exactly why,” wrote journalist Luis Rojo on Sunday morning in a scathing article for MARCA, entitled: “Barca, from bad to worse.”

Rojo was not only impressed with Barcelona on the pitch, but also criticized Flick for his unsatisfactory performance during his post-match media duties.

“He didn't give a clear diagnosis of what happened to the team,” Rojo explained. 'He concentrated on the mistakes in front of the goal. A vague conclusion.'

Flick and his team were also panned elsewhere in the Spanish press. SPORT published 'The 10 reasons for Flick's first mini-crisis at Barca'.

Those reasons include; opponents are getting used to Flick's tactics – especially in terms of the offside trap – fatigue due to the manager's lack of rotation, the mental fragility of a young team and the fitness of teenage superstar Lamine Yamal, who missed most of November with an ankle injury.

Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo also mentioned Flick's offside trap in their hit piece, with the headline: 'The many things Barca need to improve'.

Mundo Deportivo writer Xavier Munoz explains: 'In this day and age there is so much video and so much information that teams have to constantly reinvent themselves. The last few games have given the impression that Barca's rivals (Real Sociedad, Celta and Las Palmas) have attacked the offside tactic much better than their previous opponents from late August to late October.

'The match that approaches perfection in terms of efficiency of this defensive system was precisely the Clasico against Real Madrid, in which the white team was offside twelve times.

'Against Las Palmas, for example, there were less than half, five. And above all, the winning goal, scored by Fabio Silva, came through the use of that millimeter of space, which also has to do with the less pressure exerted on the passer.'

Barcelona will be keen to find better form and end 2024 on a high. But Flick's men have a tough program for the winter break.

Their next three games are all away from home: against Mallorca and Real Betis in La Liga, followed by a trip to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

Barca will then end the calendar year with home games against Leganes and title rivals Atletico Madrid.

Flick's team has 18 days off during the winter break. This is slightly shorter than most Spanish teams due to Barca's involvement in the Supercopa de Espana, which will take place in Saudi Arabia between January 8 and 12.