Barcelona are back at the top of La Liga – for one day at least – after an accomplished 3-1 victory over Alaves at the Spotify Camp Nou. Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo (x2) got the goals for the Catalans, who also made it four league wins in a row.
As per Diario AS, head coach Hansi Flick gave his reaction to the match, as he made it clear that he was not overly satisfied with the performance of his Barcelona side.
“I’m happy that we won the three points but we have to improve a lot of things. Among others, that we had chances and we didn’t finish. And that is what we have to improve. We have also had too many losses and we must improve it. Winning is important and it should give us confidence. We must manage minutes for all the players.”
However, Flick was delighted with Raphinha, who was a standout performer on his first start in over two months. He admitted that the Brazil international drives Barcelona forward in many ways.
“Raphinha is a player who gives us game dynamics. We have missed him, and for me he is important because he gives a lot of intensity. When he starts the pressure, everyone is ready to do it. It’s very important that he’s back, and important in the next games. At the moment, I’m happy with the three points.”
Flick pleased with Gerard Martin performance at centre-back
For the second La Liga match in a row, Flick opted to start Gerard Martin in the centre of defence. He spoke on that, as he confirmed that it is another option for him going forward.
“He gives you what you expect from him. He is confident in that position. He is one more option as a centre-back and that is a good thing for us.”
In my opinion, Barça didn’t have a good match despite the victory earned against Deportivo Slaves on Saturday 29th November,2025.
Alaves dominated Barça physically and in terms of intensity in large period of the match. Besides, the opponent’s also won the majority of the second balls.
At the moment, Barça lack the physicality and persistent intensity to dominate matches. And that was one of the main reasons they were dominated by Chelsea FC with a scoreline of 3 nil the past midweek.
Hansi Flick promised fans of Barça changes and improvements in the team after the Chelsea game. But that was not noticeable in yesterday’s encounter against Alaves.. On the contrary, Barça were second best physically and in terms of intensity.
If there is going to be any head-way for Barça this season, the team need to step up their physical play as well as improve their level of intensity, which must be consistent too.