Barcelona must correct mistakes after Celta draw – Hansi Flick

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has played down concerns about his team’s form but said they need to correct mistakes to get back on track after blowing a two-goal lead against Celta Vigo at the weekend.

Celta scored twice in the last 10 minutes after Marc Casadó’s red card to secure a 2-2 draw at Balaídos. Barça’s winless streak in LaLiga extends to two games.

Barça will look to bounce back when they host unbeaten Brest in the Champions League at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday.

“It’s about eliminating the mistakes, that’s important,” said Flick in a press conference before the game against the French. “We have a lot of things we can do better with the ball and that’s the focus.”

“We have a young team, I think it’s the youngest in LaLiga. It’s not always a highway where you drive at high speeds. You have to take care of certain situations and moments in 90 minutes. We have to learn that.”

Barça started the season with 11 wins from their first 12 league games before losing to Real Sociedad and drawing against Celta.

This reduced the LaLiga leaders’ lead over Real Madrid from nine points to four, while Madrid also still have a game in hand.

“I will always look positively,” added Flick. “This is a young team. Of course, situations like this may arise over the course of the season. We have to learn from it and play better.”

“The quality of the players is very high, so we have to show them on the pitch. We will do it. We will start (on Tuesday against Brest). It will be a good start.”

“It is a process for this young team and it is also a part of football. At the moment we are ahead in the league, I know a little less, but in the end every other team wants to change our way, so it’s fine for us.

Barça have been without Lamine Yamal in their last two games due to an ankle injury and are yet to win without the striker this season. He was also a substitute when they lost at Osasuna in September.

Yamal will not return in time for the game against Brest but Flick is hoping to bring the 17-year-old, who has scored six goals and provided eight assists this season, back for the visit of Las Palmas in LaLiga at the weekend.

“I think and hope that this will be the last game he will miss,” the German coach added. “It looks really good today, but we have to wait.”

“I think on Saturday he could be an option off the bench. We have to see. He still needs to train a bit, we’ll see.”

Flick also confirmed that left-back Alejandro Balde will miss Tuesday’s game due to injury, joining long-term injuries Marc-André ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araújo, Marc Bernal and Ansu Fati.

However, Eric García and Ferran Torres are both back in full training and could be in contention.

Barça have won three straight Champions League games since opening with a loss to Monaco, but they face a Brest side who are unbeaten in Europe and have picked up 10 points from their four games.

“They have good standard situations and also know how to create transitions,” said Flick. “They did really well in the previous games. You deserve the 10 points.”

“It was good how they played against (RB) Salzburg. They might have a bit of trouble in the league because they are 12th, but in the Champions League they are in the flow.”

“They are a good team, we have to concentrate on this game and we will do that. It’s very important for us to control the ball but also to finish our offense.”