Hansi Flick says Barcelona need a break after a third successive home league defeat as Atletico Madrid replaced them at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Alexander Sørloth scored the winner in the 96th minute at the Olympic Stadium as Atlético secured their 12th successive win in all competitions after Rodrigo De Paul canceled out Pedri’s opener.
Atlético’s form cannot compare to that of Barça, who have won just one of their last seven league games ahead of the Spanish winter break.
“It’s a break now and I think everyone needs a break,” Flick said in his post-match press conference. “After the break we will train and show how strong we are.
“At the moment we are all disappointed about this loss because we have played fantastically. Now we will celebrate Christmas, start training on December 29 and focus on what we can do over the next half of the season.”
Barça were 10 points ahead of Atlético at the start of November, but Saturday’s loss leaves them three points behind Diego Simeone’s side, who also have a game in hand.
However, Flick felt the team’s performance was much improved compared to their performance in recent weeks, when they lost points against Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo, Real Betis, Las Palmas and Leganes.
Pedri gave them a deserved lead against Atlético and only a combination of excellent goalkeeping from Jan Oblak and missed chances prevented them from gaining the upper hand.
“The way we played was unbelievable,” Flick added. “This is how I want to see our team. I am proud. It also shows that Atletico are an experienced team and they are waiting for this and that is enough for them.
“I think our style, the way we want to play, was really good and fantastic. “It’s really disappointing that we had nothing in our hands (in the game). This is a big disappointment.
“I told the team I really appreciate the way we played. Maybe we should play a little more intelligently. We probably got punished for a couple of mistakes and we need to learn about these things, but this is the way for me .
“The quality we played, the way we played… I think everyone here can see this. This is also the style Barça want to play, the style they want to dominate, but in the end what matters is the football and the team. More goals If you put , you win.”
Flick also gave up top spot to tip off Atlético, while Real Madrid will also move ahead of Barça if they beat Sevilla on Sunday.
“I know we played fantastically in the first three months of the season, but in the end we lost a lot of points and now we are no longer in the lead,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, it’s still a good position to be in to let us know where we want to go. I’m not worried. The team is doing really well. Today we showed everyone how good we can play. From now on.” , this should be our standard.”
The German coach also heaped special praise on Pedri, who, apart from his goals, was brilliant against Atletico, creating four great chances that his teammates missed.
“It’s great to see that he’s now reached this level,” Flick said. “The way he played was fantastic, the goals were unbelievable. If you see him on the pitch now, he is coaching other players around him as well. This is a good thing. It is the next step for him. He is 22 years old and he On the right path.”
