Barcelona coach Hansi Flick feels a disconnect between defence and attack is affecting his team after their winless run in LaLiga stretched to three games with a 2-1 loss to Las Palmas on Saturday.
Sandro Ramirez and Fábio Silva scored either side of a Raphinha strike as Las Palmas stunned Barça at the Olympic Stadium and ruined their 125th anniversary celebrations.
Barça are now without a league win since Nov. 3 and they could be knocked off the top of the table if Real Madrid, four points back, win their two games in hand.
“I believe in the players,” Flick said in a news conference when asked about his side’s dip in form since winning 11 or their opening 12 LaLiga games.
“We have a good team. The matches like today, it happens, OK. When I started here, I said to the players ‘no excuses.’ We have to keep going as a team.
“When you play as a team, or better than as a team, and everyone defends well, including in the offence, and is well connected, we can play and win against every team.
“But if it’s not, if some players are disconnected, then it’s not good and we have to speak about that.”
Poor defending in particular led to Las Palmas’ second goal, scored by Silva after Raphinha’s 14th goal of the campaign had got Barça back into the game, but Flick was insistent it is a team problem.
“When you see how the Las Palmas goals are [scored], we make some mistakes, but it was not only the last four, it started also in front,” he added. “And we have to speak about that.”
The loss to Las Palmas comes after a draw with Celta Vigo, when Barça surrendered a two-goal lead, and a defeat at Real Sociedad.
It is a run of form which is threatening to derail Barça’s season and all the good work they did early on, but Flick says confidence remains high in the squad going into successive away games against Mallorca, Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund. “The players believe in how they can play football, how strong they can be,” he said. “I say it again, we need connection and today it was not [there].
“We can do it. We have the quality. Today we have 70% possession and 27 shots. I missed that [efficiency] in front of goal to score the goals.
“At the end it’s two goals for them and one for us. We have to accept it. It’s a big disappointment today.”
Flick also confirmed that Dani Olmo didn’t come off the bench because he had a knock, adding that he should return for Tiuesday’s trip to Mallorca.
Marc Casadó will also be back from suspension for that game, while Lamine Yamal is in contention to start after returning from an ankle injury as a substitute against Las Palmas.