If Hansi Flick’s post-match press conference could be summed up in a single line, it would be this: “We have to accept the defeat and stay positive about what comes next.”

The German coach offered no excuses for the 3–0 loss at Stamford Bridge, instead striking an optimistic note as he looked ahead to the remaining Champions League fixtures. “I saw positive things and I believe we can still take the nine points left to play for,” he said.

Flick felt the match might have taken a different turn had Ferran Torres converted a clear chance in the fifth minute. “We started very well and had a very big opportunity to score the first goal" he commented. "Then the red card changed the match, and it’s not easy to recover against a team like Chelsea when you’re a man down.”

The Barça boss also acknowledged areas for improvement. “We lost some easy balls and we definitely need to be more dynamic and play with greater aggression,” he admitted. Even so, he stressed throughout that any assessment of the game must take into account that Barça played most of it with ten men.

Força Barça