Barcelona coach Hansi Flick defended his team’s players after Barça’s first defeat in La Liga this season at the hands of Osasuna 4-2.
Flick spoke in the press conference after the match and said: “If you want to blame someone, you can blame me, I caused the players to be tired and I had to rest them today.”
He also added: “I had to rotate today, we had no other choice. It is my responsibility to take care of the players, some of them played a lot, their rest was necessary.”
He continued: “I told the players that I am responsible, we have an important match on Tuesday and I think we are on the right track.”
He continued: “We have to accept the defeat, we did not play well, but I think the penalty kick shot really killed us today.”
Flick also refused to make excuses, saying: “If you look at the list you will find a deficit in the middle of the field, the situation is not easy but we have to accept it, and we are suffering from injuries, but we are not looking for excuses.”
Barcelona’s tally froze at 21 points at the top of La Liga, and if Real Madrid wins over Atletico in the derby on Sunday, the difference between the two poles will be reduced to just one point.
