'I didn't say anything!' - Hansi Flick pleads innocence after red card and slams 'very bad' Barcelona for late collapse against Real Betis

Flick was sent to the stands after Betis were awarded a penalty for Frenkie de Jong's challenge on Vitor Roque. The Barcelona boss was irate following the decision, which came after a VAR review, and was shown a red card for his complaints. He proceeded to question the fourth official before eventually leaving.

Giovani Lo Celso scored the resulting penalty but Ferran Torres thought he had grabbed the winner for Barca in the 82nd minute. That was until the fourth minute of injury-time, when Assane Diao scored with a superb flick to make it 2-2. Flick was still upset when he met the media for his post-match press conference, pleading his innocence over the sending off and criticising his team's performance.

"I didn't say anything to anyone, it was just my reaction. It was my reaction," the 59-year-old said. "It took me a long time to decide whether it was a penalty or not. If you need that much time, it could be a question. I don't agree with my expulsion. It's never happened to me before. But maybe it's something from here. I was angry with myself, not with anyone."

Flick acknowledged that his team wasn't up to scratch at Benito Villamarin stadium.

"We played very badly from the start," he added. "It wasn't a good game. We're a young team and we need to improve a lot. We need to be stronger, especially when we play away. We have quality, but we have to show it in every game.

"We were slow with our passes, with a lot of long balls... it's not what we want or our strength. We have to focus on our strengths and on what we have to do."

Barcelona have now dropped points in four out of their past five league games after failing to capitalise on Real Madrid's recent defeat to Athletic Bilbao. The Blaugrana now head to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.