Barcelona players part ways with Hansi Flick’s form

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick feels his team is affected by a mismatch between defense and attack after their winless run in LaLiga was extended to three games with a 2-1 loss to Las Palmas on Saturday.

Sandro Ramirez and Fábio Silva scored either side of a Raphinha strike as Las Palmas stunned Barça at the Olympic Stadium and ruined their 125th anniversary celebrations.

Barça have now not won a league win since November 3 and could be pushed off the top of the table if Real Madrid, four points behind, win their two remaining games.

“I believe in the players,” Flick said in a press conference when asked about his team’s decline in form since winning 11 or the first 12 LaLiga games.

“We have a good team. The games like today, it happens, OK. When I started here I said to the players: ‘No excuses.’ We have to keep going as a team.

“If you play as a team, or better than as a team, and everyone defends well, including on offense, and is well connected, we can play against any team and win.”

“But if that’s not the case, if some players lose connection, then that’s not good and we have to talk about it.”

Poor defending in particular led to Las Palmas’ second goal, scored by Silva after Raphinha’s 14th goal of the season brought Barça back into the game, but Flick insisted it was a team problem.

“If you look at the way Las Palmas’ goals are (scored), we make some mistakes, but it wasn’t just the last four, it started at the beginning too,” he added. “And we need to talk about that.”

The defeat against Las Palmas came after a draw against Celta Vigo, in which Barça blew a two-goal lead, and a defeat at Real Sociedad.

It’s a dip in form that could undo Barça’s season and all the good work they’ve done at the start, but Flick says confidence in the team remains high as they head into back-to-back away games against Mallorca, Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund goes. “The players believe in how they can play football, how strong they can be,” he said. “I’ll say it again: we need a connection, and today it wasn’t there.

“We can do it. We have the quality. Today we have 70% ball possession and 27 shots. I lacked the efficiency in front of goal to score the goals.”

“In the end it’s two goals for them and one for us. We have to accept that. This is a big disappointment today.”

Flick also confirmed that Dani Olmo was not substituted due to injury, adding that he should return for Tuesday’s trip to Mallorca.

Marc Casadó will also be back from suspension for this game, while Lamine Yamal could fight for the starting eleven against Las Palmas as a substitute after returning from an ankle injury.