Hansi Flick remained the topic of most headlines in Spain after the matchday 9 of La Liga. The FC Barcelona coach led his team to a hard-fought 2-1 win against their regional rivals, Girona, after Ronald Araujo scored the winning goal in injury time.
However, before that goal came, the German coach had already been shown a red card by the referee Gil Manzano. Instead of leaving the ground, the manager took his place near the tunnel, and it was from there that he saw the winning goal. His celebrations after this goal also remained a topic of discussion in the media.
[This red card also means that he will not be present on the sidelines for the upcoming game against Real Madrid](https://semprebarca.com/barcelona-dealt-setback-as-hansi-flick-handed-touchline-ban-for-real-madrid-match/). However, this will not be the case for the upcoming UEFA Champions League match against Olympiacos, which is scheduled to take place today.
Ahead of this match, Hansi Flick addressed his customary press conference yesterday, in which he addressed different aspects of the team and the match coming up ahead.
The main highlights from his presser are as follows:
Hansi Flick started by highlighting the strengths of his upcoming opponents:
**“They have a strong attack — the statistics say they’re one of the best attacking teams. You just have to look at their match against Arsenal, where they had many chances. We have to be alert to those situations; they have good players and a clear way of playing, so we must be careful with them.”**
The German coach admitted that his team is going through a complicated situation:
**“Right now, it’s a complicated situation, and I’m happy we managed to get the three points against Girona. It was very important, and you can see that in the atmosphere during training; that’s good to see — it’s what we need. We have a young team, and they need that.**
**When we analyzed the Girona match, we talked about positioning, keeping the right distance from opponents — if you’re too far, you have to run more. That’s what we need to improve: we must find better positioning and press from there.”**
The Barcelona trainer indicated that Ferran Torres and Raphinha might not be able to play against Olympiacos:
**“Let’s hope he can play in the Clásico — and Raphinha too. That’s what we expect. When he returned from international duty, we saw the situation was a bit complicated — not too bad, but we need to minimize risks, and playing tomorrow would be one.**
**We’ll do more tests on Thursday and see how he evolves. The situation is about taking care of the players; it’s difficult, but soon everyone will be back and we’ll have a new scenario.”**
Flick refrained from giving an opinion on the offside rule proposed by Arsene Wenger:
**“I have no idea. I respect Arsene Wenger, but we haven’t spoken recently. I don’t know what he wants or what this new rule is aiming for. Once they explain it to me, I’ll be able to understand, but for now I don’t want to comment on it because hopefully it’s still far off — maybe a couple of years away”**
The German coach was not shy in admitting his love for Barcelona when asked about his current feelings, especially after his celebrations in the last game:
**“I’m not more nervous — maybe my emotions just aren’t the same as before. I remember when I was coaching Bayern Munich, there were images from the 8–2 win against Barça where I wasn’t smiling even after eight goals.**
**Now I have more emotions; maybe this club has completely changed me. What I can say is that I love this club, I love Barcelona, I love the people here — it’s incredible — and I give my all for this club. I live for it. When I see myself on TV, I don’t like it, to be honest, and I don’t want my grandson to see me like that, so maybe I need to change my behavior.”**
The Barcelona manager also urged more caution with Marc Bernal:
**“As I said before, we need to take care of him. We’re not convinced he’s 100% ready for these matches — they’re always very tough, and watching games like the one against Sevilla, it’s not the best time for him to return.**
**We’ll find matches for him to come back gradually, and he also needs to keep improving in training. He’s not yet at his best level for big matches — we have to help him improve.”**
Flick also commented on the different roles Roony Bardghji can play in this team:
**“We can also consider playing him as a forward or an attacking midfielder, whether starting or coming off the bench. We think about the starting eleven, but also about those who finish the match, and we discuss which options are best. For now, it’s not an easy decision.”**
Similarly, he also commented on the different roles Marcus Rashford can play for this team:
**“Rashford is a good option as a number 9, but he can also play as an 11. That’s what we had in mind when we signed him — he can play either position, and it’s great to have him on our team. In recent weeks he has improved a lot; he gives us many positive things, and of course, he can play as a 9.”**
When asked about the possible appeal against his suspension for El Clasico, the German coach clarified that he is focused on the UCL game ahead:
**“For me, there’s a task after this match, because now it’s time for the Champions League. We can talk about it on Saturday or after the Olympiacos game. I said after the Girona match that there was nothing against the referee — he just saw it differently, and that’s something I have to accept.”**
The Barcelona coach refrained from making any comments when asked whether referees support Real Madrid:
**“What should I say? (laughs) I’ve been here for 16 months — you’ve all been here much longer and know more about it. I don’t want to say anything about that.”**
The German coach also lamented the absence of Raphinha:
**“I miss Raphinha because he was very important for us last season. Playing at that level is very good for us — and of course, I miss him.”**
The game against Olympiacos would be a good opportunity for the team to get a good result and get its spirits back. Hopefully, Hansi Flick will be able to lead his Barcelona team to a win ahead of the coming El Clasico.
Source: [Mundo Deportivo](https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/fc-barcelona/20251020/1002553943/rueda-prensa-flick-fermin-directo-previa-champions-league.html)