Hansi Flick aiming for top eight
Confident. That was the mood of Hansi Flick at his press conference ahead of Barça's Champions League clash with Aston Villa. Asked more about the defeats to PSG and Real Madrid than about the victories in every other game this season, the German coach insisted: "We are confident. We've managed to win 11 games in a row. We've had two defeats, but we have the quality to win and achieve our objectives. Those are to win La Liga and the Champions League. We have the quality to make history."
Praise for Aston Villa and Unai Emery
Flick knows the challenge posed by an Aston Villa side that are "a fantastic team and in great form. This is the Champions League and every game is special. It will be very difficult."
He also had plenty of praise for Unai Emery, describing him as "one of the best coaches in Europe and the world. You look at his team and they have a clear structure in defence and attack. They have different patterns of play and are very dangerous."
Barça will once again be without several defenders, something Flick acknowledged "isn't normal. But we're united, and I hope we'll get some players back after the international break."
Aiming high
One player who could soon return is Andreas Christensen, who "trained as a neutral player yesterday, and we'll see how things look ahead of the weekend."
Flick also expressed his faith in Alejandro Balde: "It's normal to lose confidence when you're not playing regularly, but I see him doing very well in every training session. He's a good option. He's very young, he came through La Masia and this is his club. I'm trying to help him regain his confidence. He's a great lad and a fantastic player."
The coach also had positive words for Gavi, despite his limited playing time recently, and highlighted the understanding between Fariñas and Lamine Yamal in the last game.
And with an important Champions League fixture approaching, Flick made Barça's immediate priority clear: "We want to finish in the top eight, and that's what we're focusing on."