Hansi Flick talks Gavi, Araujo, Gerard Martin, Casado, Yamal after Barcelona 4-0 Real Sociedad | OneFootball

FC Barcelona continued their winning run in La Liga as they thrashed Imanol Alguacil’s Real Sociedad side at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium with a 4-0 scoreline last night.

With this result, the Catalans are the sole leaders in the league table, as Real Madrid had fallen to a defeat at the hands of Real Betis on Saturday.

Hansi Flick was naturally happy with the result, and he expressed his happiness as he talked to the press after the end of the game. As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the German coach emphasised the offensive style of his team, while also recognising the improvement made in defence:

“We always like to play offensively, as much as possible in attack, and for everyone to have the hunger to score as much as they can—that’s what we want… we defended better than in recent matches.”

The Barcelona head coach revealed why he opted to sit Gavi on the bench:

“We had planned to play with Gavi, but he felt some discomfort, so we decided to change our plans. That’s why Olmo played. He informed us that he had a fever, and we had to take that into account. That’s why we went with him.”

Flick also explained Ronald Araujo’s early substitution:

Gerard Martin and Marc Casado were the two unlikely scorers for the Blaugranes in this game, and the German coach expressed his happiness for them:

“He deserved it, I’m happy for him and for Casadó’s first goal. I’m really pleased with how much Martín has improved.”

Meanwhile, he also highlighted the role that Lamine Yamal plays in creating goals:

“Everyone wants to score, but he creates a lot of chances. The important thing is that the team scores, not who scores.”

The Barcelona trainer recognised that his team can win all three big titles but clarified that he was thinking only about the next match for now:

“It’s not the time to talk about titles. The goal has to be the next match. We’re going to fight for all three titles, and at the beginning, no one expected it. That’s what we want—to compete for all three… I don’t look much further than the next game. I’m happy with where we are, but we need to stay focused on the next match.”

Flick admitted that the early red card helped his team get such a good result:

“Several factors helped us, like the red card, but we played the way we like. It’s true that the way the game unfolded worked in our favor, but Benfica didn’t have a game, and it was good for us to be able to make changes. That’s what we need to focus on.”

Lastly, the German coach was clear that his team can go on to win big things:

“I’m not surprised by anything with this team. After the game against Atlético in December, I said that we played very well despite the defeat. When we play like this, there are many possibilities.”

Hopefully, this will be the case, but for now, Barcelona and Flick will have to focus on the upcoming difficult matches against Benfica in the UCL Round of 16.