Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was furious with the Liga fixture schedule prior to the match from his side against Osasuna, which only comes two days after the end of the international break.
The match was initially planned to be played earlier this month, but was postponed after the death of the club doctor of Barcelona, Carles Minarro Garcia.
Barcelona comes in the match that Liga leads on the basis of a superior target difference over Rivals Real Madrid, with both teams at 60 points.
The Catalan side, however, play their game against Osasuna tonight and has the chance to make three points clear at the top, so that their undefeated run is extended to 19 games in all competitions.
After such a short change after the international break, with the Conmebol World Cup qualifying matches that ended early on Wednesday morning, Flick could not hide his anger when planning the fixture.
“It's not the best situation for them. The players played with their national teams, and that's bad, “said the Barca boss.
'Now we have to play against Osasuna, and we have to talk about whether it is the right time. I'm not happy. There are other competitions that do it differently. '
Nevertheless, Flick insisted that no apologies will be made, and that his leading side is good enough to beat each team, even with a minimal respite.
He continued: 'I can't change that. That is my personal opinion. But we are going to play, we don't apologize. The team is ready and we have to strive for the best performance. We go for it.
“The quality of the team is good and we can beat someone even if the players don't get the optimum rest.”
Flick was especially frustrated that two of his most important players – in the middle of Ronald Araujo and Vooruit Raphinha – will not be available tonight.
The latter played all 90 minutes of the 4-1 defeat of Brazil by Argentina, which ended on Wednesday around 2 am (British time) – 42 hours before the Barcelona match against Osasuna starts.
In the meantime, Aaraujo was an unused replacement for Uruguay against Bolivia on Tuesday, but will still miss it with an injury.
Flick added: 'They are gone. The flight is long and it is not the most optimal situation. They have to recover and train, and then we will see it on Sundays. '
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