Barcelona in ‘flow’ state after thrashing Real Madrid 4-0, says coach Hansi Flick

MADRID – Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said his team are in a state of “flow” after they thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 on Oct 26 to move six points clear at the top of La Liga.

The Catalan giants triumphed at the Santiago Bernabeu to snap Real’s run of 42 La Liga matches unbeaten over 13 months – one match short of equalling Barcelona’s all-time record of 43 – and continue their own revival under the German coach, who arrived this summer.

Barca, who ended a run of four consecutive Clasico defeats, stretched their lead at the top with 30 points, with Real second on 24.

“We started the journey and we’re doing really well. We have a flow at the moment and we have to keep going,” Flick said.

Barcelona have 10 victories from 11 league matches, despite missing several injured players, some of whom have started to return.

“At the moment, we’re in a flow. The atmosphere is really good and the mentality in the team is really outstanding. We can celebrate this win, I gave the players two days off... it’s a good day to celebrate this, but also to be focused on the next matches we have,” reiterated Flick.

Real star Kylian Mbappe had two goals ruled out for offside and Barcelona’s defence caught Los Blancos players out 12 times in the game with their high defensive line.

“We struggled in the beginning,” Barcelona defender Inigo Martinez told Dazn.

“Real Madrid were pressing, it was expected, but we overcame it. We have been performing really well, on very good form and let’s hope we can continue like this.”

Robert Lewandowski hit two goals early in the second half to help Barcelona take control, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha rounding off the rout.

“Robert showed his quality in front of goal, he was really good for us,” said Flick. “It’s about the team, they defend well and they attack well as a team... (The players) followed our match plan and it was really great to see.”

The Pole added: “The season is long, but this victory can help us with a lot more, with confidence and football... so far we haven’t won anything, but the important thing is that we have a clear idea, we know where we want to go on.”

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti lamented his side’s missed opportunities but said it was not all doom and gloom despite the result.

“It was an evenly played match, until they scored their first goal,” he said.

“We played with intensity in the first half but lacked a bit of accuracy. We had chances to take the lead but they scored two goals, which sapped our energy. That’s when another game started.” 

Three of Mbappe’s eight goals for Real in his first 14 games were penalties and he has found the net only once in the last five matches in all competitions.

“The result doesn’t reflect what happened on the pitch. We couldn’t take the lead and they went ahead and took it. The game, until the first goal, was very even and we had more chances,” Ancelotti said, before commenting on Mbappe’s lacklustre performance, being caught offside eight times.

“It was known that Barca use a high defence and we barely took advantage of it. (Mbappe) had chances and sometimes was offside, but he had three or four chances where he needed to be more accurate.”

Meanwhile, Real have launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during the Clasico, they said on Oct 27.

Spanish media reported that 17-year-old Barcelona forward Yamal, who is of Equatorial Guinean and Moroccan heritage, was targeted with xenophobic and racist abuse at the Bernabeu. Barcelona did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Spanish Supreme Sports Council (CSD) released a statement condemning the incidents and will meet on Oct 28 to discuss the case.

The State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sports, which is in charge of studying the case, includes the CSD, the Spanish police, the Civil Guard, the Spanish Football Federation, La Liga and the State Attorney General’s Office. REUTERS, AFP