Flick talks De Jong, Casado, Araujo, Christensen, Szczesny ahead of Barcelona vs Real Sociedad | OneFootball

After the 4-4 draw vs. Atletico Madrid in Copa del Rey, FC Barcelona will be aiming to bounce back to winning ways when they take on Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday evening.

The Blaugrana, currently atop the league table, could find themselves behind Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the standings considering that both capital clubs are in action tonight.

As such, Barça will need to grab all three points tomorrow against the Basque club in order to maintain their advantage in the title race.

Ahead of the match at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, manager Hansi Flick addressed the media, discussing various topics.

On facing Real Sociedad

Kicking things off, the Barcelona head coach touched upon their opponents for Sunday, saying:

“They are a great team, they know how to defend but also with the ball, they have very good players. We have to be ready tomorrow.”

It must be noted that Barça lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad in the reverse fixture earlier this season. But Flick insisted that they must keep looking forward, saying:

“We have to focus on the next game. Now Real Sociedad. We have to look at things positively, we’re better than we were in that game. The team has good qualities and we have to show them. There is no fear, there is respect.”

On the squad

On being asked about the youth in the squad and whether the team is very young, Flick remarked:

“No, for me the question is how we train. It’s very good and we are focusing on the next game, that’s what we have been doing the last few days. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game.

“And we have to know how to manage the rest of the situations. Some changes, it’s normal, all teams have these situations. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are as a player. We have very good players.”

The German tactician confirmed that there may be some rotations made for tomorrow’s game in light of the UEFA Champions League game against Benfica next week, as he said:

“Yes, I think we will change things. As we said, we need fresh players, we need them to be good. It’s a good day to do it, there will be changes. But I won’t say which ones.”

Flick then addressed the rumours about a potential new contract for Wojciech Szczesny, stating that it was a matter that Deco would handle.

“I don’t offer anything to the players, it’s a job for Deco and the others. We are very happy with him, of course. You can ask Deco about his renewal,” he said clearly.

Flick then addressed the competition for a starting berth in midfield between Frenkie de Jong and Marc Casado, saying:

“It’s a good question. I think Frenkie has improved a lot in the last month. I think ‘Home’ is much more in defence, when we need more stability. He is a player who can do a lot of things. We are very focused on defence.

“With Frenkie we have more possession, he knows how to confront in certain situations. Casado is very young and can improve a lot. I already said it, he is in his first season, working well. I’m very satisfied with him. He can be very proud.”

Injured again. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Flick also spoke about the wealth of options in central defence and then went on to reveal that Andreas Christensen had suffered yet another injury setback days after receiving the medical clearance.

“I am very happy about the situation, we need very good players for this position. Everyone sees Andreas, who has had an injury in training. We will have to wait and see how serious it is. Let’s hope it’s not too serious. He has left early,” he said.

“We have very good defenders. With Ronald, he came back from a long injury and he’s doing very well. He is a very good leader and he has everything.”

On the areas to improve

Flick then touched upon how Barcelona plan to address the defensive lapse they suffered in the game against Atletico Madrid, saying:

“Of course, we have talked. We always talk, also when we win. We always analyse the game. We show what we can improve. It’s not always about pressing up front or the defence. In some moments we did very well.

“Everybody accepted the strategy, it was more than clear. It’s the right way to do things, we are a team and we always want to learn and improve.”

On the early goals that they are conceding, he added: “I’m not worried about early goals conceded. For example, in our last away games, when we went 10 against Madrid we defended well.

“What we have to do is absorb all this energy and know how to play, which we saw with the two goals we conceded. Then it was a wonderful game from us, 70-75 minutes, sensational. We invested a lot of energy in the end.

“But we are focused on this kind of thing at the end of games. We have to do better as a team and we know that.”

On the scheduling and other matters

Regarding the scheduling of matches and having to play on a Sunday before a crucial midweek match against Benfica next week, Flick said:

“Well, a lot of things are happening this season. Obviously, the training sessions have to vary depending on the needs. It’s incredible to have games against Las Palmas, Valencia, Sevilla.

“We arrived in the early hours of the morning, we only had one training session left until the next game. They did great. It’s in our interest to be focused, there are no excuses.”

Barcelona have a gruelling schedule ahead. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Continuing, he added: “Of course, sometimes I think that in Germany or another country, everything is different. Here sometimes they don’t care about that. But the schedule we have doesn’t give us much more options.

“Two or three matches per week, I know it’s not easy to adjust and manage. We have to do what we can and have fresh players. And we will give it our all.

“At the moment, we have three competitions, we are fighting for three titles and when we started we knew that March would come. Day 1 March and I don’t think we expected to be with all this at stake.”

Regarding the game between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League next week, Flick remarked:

“As I always say, we focus on ourselves. We have to do our job, it doesn’t matter if we play before or after, that’s how it is.”

Flick celebrated his 60th birthday earlier this week and on being asked what he wished for, the German replied:

“I don’t have any wishes. I am healthy, I have a good family, and I am working very well, for me this is a gift. It’s wonderful, I’m happy.”

Source: SPORT