The FC Barcelona had a dark night in Montjuïc. The Catalans hosted Leganés in the ‘magic mountain’ and suffered their home defeat of the season. At the end of the match, and due to the absence of Hansi Flick after his expulsion against Betis, Marcus Sorg was the one who attended the media at the press conference and shared his feelings after the loss against the pepineros.
“It was not the best match. The first problem was the lack of concentration in the first five minutes. It is very hard to understand this defeat. We conceded that first goal. We had 20 chances, but we didn’t score. It’s complicated to win like that,” began the second coach of Barça.
“It was difficult to play against Leganés’ defense, with a 5-4-1 formation, and although it was not a good match, the team tried everything to score. We tried to break the lines, we created many chances, about twenty, of which five or six were clearer, but we couldn’t convert them,” lamented the German.
The keys to the defeat
Care moved from analyzing the defeat because “the emotions are still high after the match. We need to wait a few hours for the analysis. The most important thing is that we have to trust the players and encourage them. They can improve their performance. There is one match left, and we have to give it our all on the field. After the winter break, we need to continue with good results.”
However, he pointed out that “obviously, we are not happy, we need to change this trend in the League” and that “in a process, there are always ups and downs, and we are currently building a team“, before criticizing the schedule and the physical demands placed on the players.
“Players need to get used to playing every three or four days always at maximum performance”
“Obviously, if we look at the results, we can see a difference between the Barça at the start of the season and how the team is now. We need to be consistent. And it is true that if the other teams (Real Madrid and Atlético) win their matches, we will lose the lead. But we will still be up there and we will fight to be at the top“, he clarified.
“The most important thing, however, is that we have not lost faith in the players. We trust them, and I am fully convinced that the team will improve its performance. We have one match left this year, and we need to give it our all on the field. Then there will be a break that the team needs, and we will resume work to start the year with better results,” he added.
The physical condition of Lamine Yamal
Finally, Care spoke about the physical condition of Lamine Yamalwho suffered an ankle sprain from a hard tackle that affected him during his time on the field, and instead of dispelling doubts, the coach raised alarms by confirming the player’s issues in that area of the body.
“He told us he had problems with his anklethen we asked him about it, and he was fine. But we told him that if he couldn’t continue, we would substitute him. And we did substitute him. I don’t know how he is, we will have to see,” concluded the culé coach.
