“Didn’t say anything to anyone”
©IMAGO
After a red card, coach Hansi Flick had to watch the late setback of leaders FC Barcelona in the Spanish LaLiga. The former national coach was expelled from the interior of the Catalans’ 2-2 (1-0) draw at Real Betis Sevilla before the penalty to make the score 1-1 after he had apparently complained too loudly. Flick continued to watch the game in the stands behind a glass pane.
Barcelona conceded the 2-2 equalizer from Assane Diao in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The leader had previously taken the lead twice through Robert Lewandowski (39th) and Ferran Torres (82nd). Giovani Lo Celso scored the goal to make it 1-1 with a penalty kick (68th) after the referee had checked the scene on video. Flick did not agree with the penalty decision.
“I don’t understand my red card. “I didn’t say anything to anyone, it was just a reaction to myself,” said Flick after the game. “It took a long time to decide whether it was a penalty or not. When you need so much time, there are also doubts. If it ends up taking that long, I’m not sure it’s clear. But we have to accept the penalty as well as my red card.”
Barça is five points ahead of defending champions Real Madrid in the table, who can follow suit at FC Girona in the evening. The Royals still have one more game to catch up on. “We played badly from the start. We were slow in our passing game and played a lot of long balls. “That’s not what we want and that’s not our strength,” Flick summed up. “We have to focus on our strengths again.”
