Barcelona’s winless streak in La Liga stretched to three matches after they suffered a 2-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Las Palmas at the Estadio Olímpico Lluís Companys. The loss was further compounded by an injury to Alejandro Balde in the first half.
Barcelona’s head coach, Hansi Flick, criticized his team’s performance, indicating that they didn’t play well enough to secure a victory. He expressed frustration over their inability to capitalize on scoring chances, stating, “We did not play well. The team tried for a good result, but it wasn’t our day. We were inefficient and failed to take our chances.”
Flick also acknowledged that his team’s recent struggles in controlling the game and creating scoring opportunities had been an ongoing issue. “When we control games, we can play well and create chances, but when we don’t, that’s the problem,” he added.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Nacional, former Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez cautioned Flick against starting French defender Jules Koundé. Xavi believes Koundé is ill-suited to play as a right-back, warning that relying on him in this role could lead to significant losses for Barcelona this season.
Reflecting on his own experience, Xavi described using Koundé in this position as an “unforgivable mistake” and advised Flick not to repeat it to avoid further damaging the team’s promising start to the season.
