"Lamine Yamal is a genius"

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said his team “had a lot of pressure” after Real Madrid's 1-0 loss to Espanyol, and praised his players' response to beat Alaves (1-0) on Sunday and move to within four points of the La Liga lead.

“For us, it's a good situation, better than before, but we had to win today. The team did well, they had a lot of pressure and responded very well. In the second half, we tried to score with great chances. Alaves defended very well, they did a good job, but we deserved the three points”, he summed up.

From the press room of the Estadio Olmpico Lluis Companys, Flick assessed that the break to attend to Pablo Paez Gavira 'Gavi' and Tomas Conechny, after both collided with their heads in a fight for the ball, “has not helped to regain the rhythm” of the game.

“Gavi always wants to play, but we had to be careful. The doctor's decision was to replace him and now I think he's on his way home, he's fine. Nothing has happened, that's the good news,” he explained.

Flick noted that De Jong “is improving a lot in defence” and praised Robert Lewandowski, scorer of the winning goal, whom he called “the best No 9 in the world inside the box”.

The coach also described Lamine Yamal as “a genius”. “I am very happy that he is playing for Barça. At 17 years old, he is doing very well in every game,” he added.

With 45 points, FC Barcelona sit third in the Spanish first division standings, behind leaders Real Madrid (49) and Atletico Madrid (48).

 

February 3, 2025