Victory is essential at FC Barcelona, and there is simply no point to doing anything without attaining it. Such are the expectations at the Catalan club, and playing beautiful football goes hand in hand with the other objective. However, accomplishing one without the other is a problem at Barcelona.
Against Atletico Madrid, for instance, the team played quite well but failed to convert their chances. Ultimately, it ended up costing Barcelona all three points and led to Diego Simeone’s side converting their few chances and consequently going to the top of the table.
This particular loss reportedly left the Barcelona players quite disheartened, and as highlighted by SPORT, not even Hansi Flick could help his players overcome their feelings of dread. After the game, Flick reportedly even told them that he had faith in the team to bounce back and tried his best to motivate and uplift them.
Yet, to his disappointment, it did not seem to help out anyone in the locker room. The loss seemingly weighed quite heavily on the players, and almost all of them felt disheartened in their own ways and for unique reasons. Even as Flick congratulated the players for their efforts and the way they played, they were still disappointed in themselves.
The players left the dressing room feeling dejected and down afterwards, and each of them had their own reasons to feel that way. Some, such as Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo were angry with themselves for not doing well. Others, such as Pedri, and Inigo Martinez were visibly upset, while the likes of Marc Casado and Raphinha even blamed themselves for specific mistakes they made.
It was simply not the kind of atmosphere that Flick would have liked the dressing room to have after such a loss. The German coach tried to address his players once again on Sunday, and did so by replacing the originally planned recovery session with a direct conversation for the group.
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BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 12: Vitor Roque of FC Barcelona looks on after the Joan Gamper Trophy match between FC Barcelona and AS Monaco at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on August 12, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.
BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 23: Robert Lewandowski of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD3 match between FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munchen at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on October 23, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.
BARCELONA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 25: Hansi Flick, Head Coach of FC Barcelona, looks on prior to the La Liga EA Sports match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF at Camp Nou on September 25, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain.
Ultimately, despite his best efforts, the Barcelona coach still could not do much to uplift the mood. However, the players continue to have faith in the coach and what he preaches, and they know that if they play the way they did against Atletico Madrid for the rest of the season that they will do well. However, for now, it seems that everyone in the team simply wishes to disconnect for a few days and take their time to come back stronger.