FC Barcelona coach Hansi Flick stated on Saturday, after the 3-0 victory over Mallorca in LaLiga, that midfielder Marc Bernal — who scored his first senior goal for the 'Azulgrana' after overcoming a serious injury a few months ago — had "taken another step towards returning to the highest level".

"The entire bench stood up, applauded, and celebrated the goal. For Bernal, it was fantastic to score his first goal at Camp Nou. It was perfect, he did very well," the German coach celebrated in the press room.

Despite the victory, Flick declared that he "wasn't happy with the first half", because FC Barcelona didn't play at their level: "We weren't dynamic, the passes were slow. We weren't one hundred percent with the right mentality and attitude," he stated.

He also revealed what he told his players at halftime: "I asked if they were satisfied with the first half, and they said no. We showed them what they could improve in terms of positioning and passing intent, and the second half was much better. We came away with three points, three goals, and a clean sheet. It's a good day for us," he said.

Flick believed that the referee should have awarded a penalty to Lamine Yamal and explained that his substitution in the second half was due to minute management.

On the other hand, the German coach attributed the team's poor starts in recent matches to the accumulation of fixtures and emphasized that this Thursday, against Atletico de Madrid in the Copa del Rey, he expects "to see a different team, from the first minute".

Regarding Marc Casado's starting role, he commented that he "is very professional" and "deserves to play", but also insisted that "it's necessary to manage the minutes" of the other midfielders. This was the case for Frenkie de Jong, who didn't play because he "wasn't feeling well".

Finally, after the debut of young Tommy Marques with the senior team, the tenth academy player to debut under Flick's orders, the FC Barcelona coach responded: "This is our way of doing things, it's good for the club. The relationship among the boys from La Masia is completely different. It's something I love," he concluded.

Marc Bernal

Achievements