Early morning on August 18th, Barcelona defeated Valencia 2-1 in the first round of the new La Liga season, giving Flick a winning start.
After the game, the German coach evaluated the match and the performances of some players.
Regarding the victory in the first match, Flick said: “The three points are very important, but everything is not perfect. The second half was much better than the first half. In the first half we made many mistakes. Valencia took advantage of those mistakes and took the lead, but the goal before the end of the first half was important for the start of the second half.”
Flick praised Lewandowski, who scored twice: “He’s a professional. He’s very important for us. He scored two goals and did a great job in defense.”
Regarding the substitution of Koundé, Flick said: “We have to be careful to prevent him from getting a second yellow card. The substitution was made for that reason.”
Regarding Balde’s injury, Flick said: “I think he’s fine. We talked to him and he said he’s fine. We’ll have a check-up when we get back to Barcelona.”
Flick also praised Yamal: “He’s a great player. He’s important for us. Everyone wants to see him play, so he got applause here. We still have a lot to improve on. The season has just started and we need to build confidence. These three points are very important for us. Today was a tough battle because of the pitch, the fans… It was a tough match. But I think we deserved the three points.”
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