Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has admitted his side are in a battle to revive their hopes of winning the Liga title after falling seven points behind Real Madrid at the weekend. In his view, the German coach had reason for optimism.
Flick believes that although the Blaugrana once again dropped points against Getafe this weekend, he felt a turning point had occurred for his team.
“We're in three competitions now and we've won our first title, which is great. But also, and I don't like to look back, our results in La Liga are not good. If you see the situation in La Liga, of course there is nothing to hide, that is not what we want.”
“But when I see after the break how we played, it's really good. And of course everyone knows that it is difficult to play in Getafe. I hope to see a different style of football from my team tomorrow. Benfica is also a team that likes to play football. It's great to see, and they love to play, and di Maria is one of my favorite players.”
He was asked if he thought the Blaugrana still had a chance of winning the title.
“All I can say is that we will fight for it and we will give everything for it. We will ultimately see how things stand in the coming month.”
Barcelona themselves have seen a seven-point lead slip away, with a dreadful run of just two wins in the league since their victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Before Flick spoke to the press, Benfica manager Bruno Lage explained that in his eyes Barcelona were the favorites for the Champions League.
“It's one of the hardest things to do. But we'll try. When I see Liverpool, they are at a very high level and performing in every game. They have a strong team, you can see their strength. Their manager has done a great job and they are one of my favorite teams.”
The German coach was pressed on their league form and not only tried to take responsibility for their problems in La Liga, but also had words of praise for Getafe. He was less happy with the penalty not being awarded for what he believed was a foul on Jules Kounde, but overall he was impressed with Los Azulones.
“I will take the pressure off the team, the team is doing really great, they are playing very well, they are training very well. I will say what I said in Getafe. It's my first season here and I haven't experienced it yet. It's really unbelievable how they play.”
“You always look up, it's like tennis. It's not fun to play there. But what I can say is that when a team is 100% focused on this style, it's incredible. Maybe as a footballer I wouldn't have liked to play there, but for them it's incredible to see. They focus 100% on this and they are successful with it.”
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