No excuses. Hansi Flick is aware that FC Barcelona did not produce their best performance on Tuesday night. The German coach was critical of his team’s play, but also wanted to highlight the areas in which the blaugranes were more effective.

“We didn’t play a good game with the ball" he said. "We lost possession too many times and made a lot of mistakes. That’s what Newcastle United wanted. In the end they are a team that looks for that and thrives on recoveries and transitions. What I want to praise about my team today is that we defended together. Defensively we were good and that’s what I’m satisfied with.”

"Today was a very intense game,” he continued. "When we had the ball it was easier, but that wasn’t for very long. We accept it, we’ll analyse it and we’ll try to do better in the next game.”

“We didn’t want to take any risks with Eric Garcia. He’s a very important player for us, but we have other players who are ready.”

He also praised the debut of young Xavi Espart: “He did well, had some good actions one-on-one and made the most of his opportunity.”

Força Barça