Barcelona masters the mandatory task against Alavés, but assistant coach Marcus Sorg receives a late red card. Afterwards, a conversation between Hansi Flick and Raphinha causes a stir.
Emotions apparently ran high on the Barcelona bench around Hansi Flick and Co. during the 3-1 win against Deportivo Alavés on Saturday evening. Flick’s assistant Marcus Sorg even saw a red card shortly before the end, as did goalkeeper coach José de la Fuente.
According to Spanish media reports, Sorg is said to have cheered provocatively in the direction of the fourth official after the late goal by former Leipzig player Dani Olmo (90+3). Spanish journalist Gerard Romero also reports this.
However, a scene after the final whistle remained stuck in the minds of the Spanish press. After the Catalans’ victory, the TV cameras captured an interaction between Flick and star attacker Raphinha, in which the German coach shook his head several times with a serious expression and stared into space.
“A worrying conversation”
The Spanish Marca described the interaction as “a worrying conversation”. “The harsh image that Flick leaves in front of the cameras gives cause for concern about the future of the Catalan team,” the newspaper writes. Apparently, the exchange was about Flick’s dissatisfaction with his team’s performance and the dismissal of his assistants.
Marcus Sorg (l.) is Hansi Flick’s assistant coach at Barcelona
“I asked the fourth official what happened and he didn’t tell me anything. I missed a little communication with the fourth referee,” Flick clarified at the press conference after the game, emphasizing: “If he had told me to calm my bench down, I would have done that.”
Apart from this topic, the former German national coach also commented on the interaction with Raphinha. “After the end of the game, Raphinha told me the same thing as last time: ‘We will improve. We will be much better in the next games’,” said Flick, who was dissatisfied with his team’s performance.
Raphinha explains conversation with Flick
The Brazilian understood this after the final whistle. “The coach felt that we could do much more on the pitch, and we also know that we can play much better. He feels that the team is not showing its best performance and I agree with him. We still have a lot to improve, but nevertheless I think the most important thing today was to get the win,” explained Raphinha afterwards.
The winger was optimistic about this. “We have time to correct the bad things and I am sure that we will return to our best form,” said the 28-year-old.
After all, winning despite a poor performance is also a quality. “We will win when we play well, but if we play badly once, I don’t care, the important thing is that we win,” he explained.
Recently, the Catalans disappointed in the Champions League with a 0-3 defeat against Chelsea. In the league, Flick’s team is top of the table, but Real Madrid can still overtake them on this matchday. On Tuesday, a real test awaits Barca with Atlético Madrid.
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