Barcelona manager Hansi Flick after Girona loss – ‘I’ve given the players two days off’

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has opted for a cooling-off period rather than extra training after his side slumped to a second consecutive heavy defeat, this time a 2-1 loss at Girona on Monday that followed the 4-0 humiliation by Atlético Madrid. Speaking after the final whistle at Estadi Montilivi, Flick admitted the performance was “lacking in both reaction and solutions” and confirmed he has granted the squad two days away from the training ground.

The German coach, visibly frustrated, deflected questions about the pivotal second goal, which Barcelona believe should have been ruled out for a foul on defender Jules Kounde by Claudio Echeverri. “I don’t want to talk about this; everyone saw what happened,” Flick said. “Was it a foul or not, what do you think? [Yes] Thank you very much, there’s no need to say more.”

Instead, he turned his focus to the broader malaise that allowed Girona to slice through Barça’s lines at will after the interval. “We played really badly in the second half. We were poor defensively,” he conceded. “The team is tired, not fresh, but we need to be hungrier to win games. More control, fewer mistakes.”

Flick was particularly scathing of the midfield’s positioning, saying it invited pressure and led to repeated turnovers. “Our positioning wasn’t good, especially in midfield. We made too many mistakes. We need to get back on track and start playing well again. Right now, we’re not doing things right.”

With a full week before the La Liga visit of Levante, Flick believes a mental reset is paramount. “I’ve given them two days off. The goal is to mentally reset and recharge before facing the next match. We’re all disappointed. But we’ll fight. It’s time to come back. We’ll return on Thursday with a different mindset and train better.”

Injury relief could also be on the horizon. Flick hinted that Pedri and on-loan forward Marcus Rashford could rejoin group training next week, while the club will assess Gavi’s situation. “I hope to have more players back next week. With Pedri, with Rashford… we’ll see about Gavi. We have a new situation and we need to get back to our best.”

Barcelona now have four days of preparation to halt a slide that has seen them concede six goals in two games and slip further behind in the early-season table.