Flick holds ‘hour-long crisis talks’ with squad after disappointing winless run

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has held 'hours of talks' with his players as the German battles to reverse the Catalan club's worrying run of form.

The Nou Camp club went into November with a six-point lead over bitter rivals Real Madrid, who they beat 4-0 at the Bernabéu in October's El Clásico.

However, a winless November has seen their lead at the top of La Liga reduced to just one point over Real, with Carlo Ancelotti's side having a game in hand.

Saturday's 2-1 defeat at home to Las Palmas – on the occasion of Barcelona's 125th anniversary – marked a low point in the season and has spurred Flick into action.

Ahead of Tuesday night's league match in Mallorca, Marca reports that Flick has put his team aside for an hour of training to try to make sense of their slump.

Flick then singled out striker Robert Lewandoswki for special treatment by having a lengthy one-on-one chat with the Polish star.

Lewandowski has been in excellent form so far this season, scoring 22 goals in just 20 games, but scoring just one league goal in November.

Flick's team face three tough away games: the trip to Mallorca followed by Saturday's match at Real Betis before taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League next week. But the German is confident that his team has everything it takes to turn things around.

“We have to learn that we have to fight for victory,” he said.

'If it's a tough match, having a clean sheet means everyone in the team has to defend. We defend as one unit.

'I'm not just talking about playing football, but also about fighting, this is important. I was a player because of this attitude. I don't like losing.

'I think we have to create more of this in the team, fight for this more, to win the game. In some situations on the pitch we are doing well, but we have some room to make it better.

'It's a long road in La Liga. This is how I see it, to fight, [because] at the end of the season we want to win the title, of course we are Barcelona. That's why I want to see everyone fighting, not just the team, but also the staff.”