Flick dismisses title-favourites tag: Long way to go

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick dismissed the idea his side have replaced Real Madrid as favourites to win LaLiga after last weekend’s 4-0 Clásico win.

Barça’s victory against Madrid at the Bernabéu, their 10th in 11 league games under Flick, moved them six points clear at the top of the table.

They face Espanyol on Sunday in the Catalan derby at the Olympic Stadium and could extend their lead to nine points with Madrid’s trip to Valencia this weekend postponed due to the deadly flooding in the east of Spain.

“There is a long, long way [to go],” Flick said in a news conference on Saturday when asked if Barça, unfancied at the start of the campaign, were now the favourites to lift the title.

“A lot of things can happen that we don’t expect. We are in a good mood and we have a flow. We have to keep going on. This is our plan. It’s like we always acted, we prepare well for the next match.

“When we win, it’s also positive to celebrate this, but then we have to focus on the next match. It’s a long, long road to the end of the league.”

After ending October with a 100% record in all competitions, which saw him named LaLiga’s Manager of the Month, Flick is now preparing for his first Catalan derby.

Frenkie de Jong, Dani Olmo and Gavi, who all came off the bench in the win against Madrid, are all pushing for their first starts after returning from long injury layoffs.

“I know what it means, a derby, Espanyol against Barça,” Flick added. “I think it will be a tough match. After a really great week, it’s very important to give 100% like normal with the focus, intensity and quality we have.

“I am happy with [Saturday’s] training. The team showed the quality and the things we want to see [against Espanyol]. If they do that, the fans will be happy.

“We have one more night so we will see what happens about the [starting lineup], but I appreciate what I see from Frenkie. You can see in the second half in Madrid, he gave us stability, also ball control.

“He’s a fantastic player. We will see. He also had huge injury, a lot of months not playing, so now we start with him and it helps us to have more options, more possibilities.”

Madrid’s game at Valencia is one of two matches suspended in LaLiga this weekend due to the floods which have taken the lives of over 200 people.

Villarreal‘s game against Rayo Vallecano has also been called off.

Flick sent a message of support to those affected by the storms in Spain and suggested that all of the games in the country’s top flight should have been halted this week.

“It’s a tragedy,” he said. “We have this in Germany three years ago. It’s really horrible to see. If we can support the region we will do that, of course, but the other things the league has to decide that.

“If I could make the decision maybe I would [postpone all the games] because it’s a tragedy for this region, also for Spain. Maybe yes.”