Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has explained that his side needed to clear their heads this week after their defeat to Leganes last Sunday. Generally, managers tend to reward their players with days off after wins, but Flick allowed his side two days off this week.
The Blaugrana coach felt that the tough schedule required some time off for his players. One of the factors in their relapse was probably fatigue.
“We had three weeks without days off, so I think we made the decision after the game. We had to clear the mind. We saw that the training in recent days was very good, so I think this was the right decision.”
Flick was also criticized on Sunday for removing Robert Lewandowski with half an hour to go against Leganes as the Blaugrana looked to break through. Ferran Torres' form was key to making the call.
“When you make a decision, many things can happen. We had a lot of chances in the first half, not so many in the second. But Ferran also did well in the previous games, so it was a decision we made. Our job is to make the decision, and you can talk about it afterwards.”
The Catalan side have taken just five points from their last six Liga games and face an Atlético side coming off the back of 11 straight wins. Meanwhile, Diego Simeone is looking to break the streak of never beating Barcelona in the Catalan capital in La Liga.
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