Barcelona’s training ground was a lively place to be on Friday, with players and manager Hansi Flick openly sharing criticism of each other in the fallout of their 4-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid the night before.
According to several sources familiar with what was said — during talks that had not been scheduled to take place — the German manager spoke sternly to the group when questioning their attitude and intensity, especially in the first half of Thursday’s Copa del Rey semi-final first leg.
The players then told their manager they had concerns over the team’s tactics in the match, suggesting his instructions to follow their usual style — which combines intense pressing with a very high defensive line — was not the best idea, as conditions were not right for that in their eyes.
Sources said the players decided to share their views in this way as this was not the first time such a situation had occurred this season.
Against Club Brugge in November, Barca eventually salvaged a 3-3 draw from a Champions League game in which they had very little control. A month before, they were beaten 4-1 at Sevilla in La Liga, in similar scenes to what happened at the Metropolitano last night.
Sources said several of Barca’s squad believe the defeat at Atletico highlighted just how hard it is to successfully apply Flick’s desired style without Pedri and Raphinha — both out with hamstring injuries and both crucial to the system’s success.
Atletico, meanwhile, were ready to successfully counter their plans. Diego Simeone’s side were extremely impressive in the way they stifled Barca, while clever runs from deep and decoy positioning from attackers straying offside helped them break through on goal with ease. They reached that 4-0 scoreline by half-time.
Atletico raced into a 4-0 lead by half-time (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The main message Barca’s players wanted to transmit to Flick, sources said, was not that they want to abandon a tactical approach that has — on the whole — worked brilliantly and led to a domestic treble last season. They instead asked for more pragmatism around key games and against certain opponents, as well as greater adaptation to the players available.
In 2024-25, Barca were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals by Inter over two wild legs of football that ended with the Italians progressing as 7-6 winners on aggregate.
This term, Barca have progressed to the Champions League last 16, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain or Monaco. They have not won the competition since 2015.
Barca next play on Monday away to Girona in La Liga, where they lead Real Madrid in the table by one point. Sources said more talks were planned over the weekend in the build-up to that match, including a video analysis session taking in the Atletico performance.
Raphinha has now missed 13 matches this season because of hamstring issues. He was absent again at Atletico as the club continues to manage the problem area. The Brazilian did train on Friday, however.
Pedri, meanwhile, has not returned to full training yet since suffering his latest hamstring injury at Slavia Prague in the Champions League on January 21. The initial expectation was that he would be out for at least a month.
