Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Blaugrana boss Hansi Flick not entirely impressed despite 2-1 friendly win

By Sreejith CR | First Published Aug 4, 2024, 12:53 PM IST

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick wasn't entirely pleased with his side's performance in the 2-1 friendly win over Real Madrid in New Jersey on Saturday. The German tactician wants his players to "press for 90 minutes" and "put pressure on the opposing player who had the ball".

Barcelona secured a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly on Saturday, but head coach Hansi Flick wasn't entirely impressed with his side's performance as he wants them to be more intense when it comes comes to putting " pressure on the opposing player who had the ball". Pau Victor was the man of the match having scored a brace, while right-back Alex Valle was impressive, having played a pivotal role in the first goal and providing the assist for the second.

The Catalan side has now won both their pre-season friendlies in United States, getting the better of Manchester City 4-1 on penalties after the match ended 2-2 in regulation time, before defeating Los Blancos in front of a packet MetLife Stadium. After the victory in the El Clasico, Flick conceded that his team has "done great" but also had faults to pick, according to Forbes.

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"In some situations we sank too deep and didn't put pressure on the opposing player who had the ball. That cannot be and it is a problem," Flick said. Blaugrana took the lead three minutes before the break after Valle's perfect cross was miscontrolled by Robert Lewandowski and the ball fell kindly for Victor to head home from close range.

"We have to focus on this and press for the 90minutes, we knew it was a Clasico despite it being a pre-season. i told my players that he wanted to see an improvement on the pitch compared to what we offer against City and I think that's how it was. We have done great," the 59-year-old continued.

Nine minutes into the second-half, the 22-year-old doubled the lead, this time from Valle's brilliant low cross. In response, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti introduced Vinicius Jr. in the 58th-minute and the Brazilian troubled the Barca defence with his pace and trickery but failed to find the back of the net. Though Los Blancos reduced the deficit through Nico Paz in the 82nd-minute, Flick's men held on to the slender lead and secured the victory.

In relation to Victor, who has been a revelation for Barcelona in the pre-season, scoring three goals in two matches, and winning back-to-back man of the match awards, Flick was reticent and stressed "We will see what happens to the ex-Girona man's chances of staying with the seniors and not returning to the Barca Atletic reserve outfit for the upcoming 2024/25 season." The 22-year-old was the 'Pichici' (top goalscorer) for Barca Atletic last season, scoring 20 goals from 39 appearances.

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