Hansi Flick addresses Lamine Yamal's angry reaction to being substituted vs Eintracht Frankfurt as Barcelona wonderkid picks up Champions League suspension

Flick’s men were made to scrap for the three points on a demanding night at Camp Nou. Barcelona fell behind after just 21 minutes when Ansgar Knauff broke the deadlock, punishing a sluggish first half showing from the hosts. For the fifth consecutive match, the Catalans conceded the opening goal, a pattern that Flick acknowledged remains a concern. But once again, Barcelona’s resilience proved decisive. After the interval, they shifted gears, pressing higher and stretching Frankfurt’s defensive line. The response culminated in two goals from an unlikely source in Jules Kounde, whose adventures in the final third were rewarded handsomely. Marcus Rashford and Yamal provided the assists. 

Flick addressed Yamal’s irritation to being withdrawn late on in his post-match comments, offering a composed explanation. He confirmed that the decision to remove the winger was precautionary rather than tactical. 

"We changed Lamine with a few minutes to go because he was booked and it was late," Flick said. "If he was a bit annoyed, then I fully understand and I like it. I was a player too. It's fully acceptable, not a problem."

While the manager may appreciate Yamal’s intensity, Barcelona will have to cope without him in their next Champions League fixture. His yellow card against Frankfurt was his third of the current campaign, triggering an automatic one-match suspension. He will therefore miss January’s encounter with Slavia Prague.

Flick also stressed the value of Barcelona’s repeated comebacks, though he conceded the team cannot afford to make a habit of starting slowly.

He added: "Really happy how we come back but sometimes it would also be good to start well and score the first goal. It is what it is."

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Kounde, meanwhile, admitted he relished the opportunity to push forward. He explained that Frankfurt’s five-man defensive shape left wide spaces behind their back line, encouraging him to attack with conviction.

"My first job is to defend well so I have to keep a balance," he said. "And there are games when we play against a back five, today Frankfurt were very deep, so you have to attack the spaces in behind, which is what I tried to do. I had success with those two goals."

Flick echoed that sentiment, praising the Frenchman’s mentality. 

"It's great to have Jules scoring... his talent and his mentality are so important," Flick said.

Yamal's assist to Kounde pushed him to 14 Champions League goal involvements, seven goals and seven assists, which sets a new competition record for players aged 18 or younger. In surpassing Kylian Mbappe’s previous benchmark of 13 involvements, the Spaniard has etched his name into elite European company. Notably, Yamal will not celebrate his 19th birthday until July, leaving him with half a season still to boost that record. 

The victory carried Barcelona to 14th place in the Champions League league phase, leaving them just two points shy of eighth place and automatic qualification for the knockout stage.

However, Flick is not getting hung up on Barca's position yet. He said: "I haven’t looked at it. Right now, I’m not interested in that. We have to focus on ourselves and on getting six more points than we have now.  Of course, goal difference is important. We’re taking it game by game. It’s not easy to play in the Champions League. All the opponents hurt you. They fight. It’s the top competition in Europe and perhaps the world."

Attention now turns back to La Liga, where Barcelona hold a four-point advantage at the summit over arch-rivals Real Madrid. Flick’s side will play Osasuna on Saturday before completing their 2025 domestic schedule away to Villarreal on December 21. A proposed move to stage that match in Miami fell through, meaning the fixture will proceed at La Ceramica.