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Flick snubs Arbeloa: I won’t waste my energy responding to him

We’re focusing on ourselves… and not thinking about Real Madrid

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has stressed the importance of squad rotation ahead of Saturday’s Catalan derby against Espanyol in La Liga’s 31st round.

Barça lead La Liga with 76 points, six clear of Real Madrid, while Espanyol are tenth on 38.

His remarks, relayed by Mundo Deportivo from Friday’s pre-match press conference, underline the club’s commitment to managing workloads.

The German coach stated, “Of course, we must manage playing time as usual. We have great quality in the squad, and whoever plays tomorrow will put in a fantastic performance.”

On the possibility of resting Lamine Yamal, he added, “It’s always good for him to start, but we’ll see; I haven’t decided yet—we’ll wait until tomorrow.”

He added that Gavi is a strong option to start, though he has yet to decide whether the young midfielder will play the full 90 minutes.

He added, “I’m happy Frenkie de Jong is back, but we’ll have to wait and see. He felt fine in training and will be on the bench.”

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Yamal’s wish to start clashes with Flick’s rotation policy ahead of the derby.

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There’s a lot of buzz about Barcelona
Regarding the comments made by Arbeloa and Barcelona, Flick said, “Nothing. I won’t waste my energy on that. It’s his point of view, and I’m focusing on my team.”
The German coach added, “I don’t let such matters bother me; that’s the nature of the game. There’s a lot of noise around us, but I’ve told the squad to focus on ourselves and not worry about Real Madrid.”
“We’re in a good position, we have to win every game, and we’re only thinking about ourselves.”
Arbeloa’s comments had referred to league statistics since 2000, which show that Barcelona have received fewer red cards in La Liga than Real Madrid, although the numbers are more even in Europe.
Arbeloa replied, “You know my view on what has happened in Spanish football over many years—and still happens sometimes. I won’t change my mind.”
The debate did not end there: Arbeloa was also questioned about the refereeing in Barcelona’s Champions League clash with Atlético Madrid.
“I don’t want to get into that sort of assessment; we’ve seen what has happened and what continues to happen over many weeks. My opinion is what I’ve said many times.”
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Arbeloa on Barcelona’s complaints about refereeing: I won’t change my mind

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La Liga or the Champions League?
Asked whether thoughts of the return leg against Atlético Madrid could distract his side, Flick replied, “I’m confident, and the players have shown excellent focus in training.”
On the relative importance of La Liga and the Champions League, he stated, “The league qualifies you for the Champions League, but every manager, player and fan dreams of winning the competition, and that’s our goal.”
“In every match, you can see the team is more motivated in the Champions League, which is the competition we want to win. We have to do our job in La Liga, but the most important thing is to win the Champions League; that is the goal of the players and the club.”
On Robert Lewandowski’s future, he replied, “I’ve answered this question before, and I always say the same: now is not the time to talk about that. We have a big goal and all the players must focus on it and give their best.”
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The events that unfolded against Atlético Madrid were deemed “unfair”.
Barcelona have lodged an official complaint with UEFA, protesting against the standard of refereeing during their 2–0 loss to Atlético Madrid.
Head coach Hansi Flick acknowledged, “I don’t know the outcome of the protest, but for me and the team, it’s good that the club is backing us, because what happened was unfair. A mistake can happen once, but not twice at this level.”
He added that video assistant referees (VAR) are meant to intervene when something goes wrong, and he felt that element was missing on the night.
He concluded, “There are many things we can improve on. It’s true that we didn’t play our best game and made mistakes, but they had an impact on the result.”