Flick warns Barça must 'improve a lot' despite win
Written by I Dig Sports
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said his side must "improve a lot," despite winning 2-0 away at Las Palmas on Saturday to return to the top of LaLiga.
Atlético Madrid leapfrogged Barça by beating Valencia earlier in the day, but second-half goals from substitutes Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres took the Catalan side back to the summit.
Real Madrid can move level on 54 points with Barça, one ahead of Atlético, when they host Girona on Sunday as the race for the title heads towards a fascinating climax.
"In the first half, I missed 5-10% from the players, maybe more," Flick said in assessment of his team's performance against Las Palmas.
"It's about positioning, the passing, all these things. It was not like we can do. We have to improve a lot after this match.
"It's also about occupying the box. This was not good. We need players in the box, in the right position.
"It's not always in the midfield where we build up, it's also very important in the box. I am not happy about that and this is where we can do it better.
"The players are also not happy with the performance, but very happy with the three points.
"We are still top of the table and this is a good situation. We always said we want to improve, be better, a better team. I think today we have to improve a lot."
Besides the three points, there were also positives for Flick in the form of substitutes Olmo and Torres supplying the goals which won the match at the Estadio Gran Canaria. Olmo, who is fully fit again after a recent injury, opened the scoring in the 62nd minute with his first goal since November, firing in off the bar after exchanging passes with Lamine Yamal.
Torres' late strike also went in off the bar as the Spain forward, like Olmo, made his case to start more regularly and demonstrated the squad depth available to Flick.
"[Olmo] scored the first goal and it was very important for us," Flick added. "He was injured and maybe others have been one step higher with the fitness [recently], but Dani is very important.
"He needed these minutes to adapt and we are happy he scored the goal -- it was good for him as well.
"But I am also happy with Ferran, he has scored a lot of goals and is on the bench, it's not so easy for him. But they are doing good. They are always an option for the starting XI."
Barça, who are now unbeaten through 13 games in 2025, have a quick turnaround before their next game -- a visit from Atlético on Tuesday in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal between the two teams.
Atlético won 2-1 when they met at the Olympic Stadium in LaLiga just before Christmas.