Barcelona Slipped, Hansi Flick Highlights Frequent Loss Of Football

JAKARTA - Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was dissatisfied with his players as they were only able to play the 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano on Monday, September 1, WIB, in La Liga. Only a few brilliant saves from goalkeeper Joan Garcia made sure they didn't lose.

Lamine Yamal put Barcelona ahead in the first half through a penalty spot at the Estadio de Vallecas, but Fran Perez equalized after the break and Rayo ended the record 100 percent of the La Liga champions in the new season.

Hansi Flick also highlighted a number of weaknesses his troops made Barcelona slip at the start of the season, which was certainly dangerous in their efforts to defend the La Liga title.

"We didn't deserve more than a point. In the end, we had a fantastic goalkeeper today because we made too many mistakes."

"I'm not satisfied with my team. I think it's too easy for us to get the ball, we also lost a lot of balls. This is what we have to fix."

"Too many mistakes, too many mistakes, and this is why Rayo got up. It's not a good game for us. We have to play much better, much better," Flick said after the game.

Barcelona seemed to be on the right track for a third straight win at the start of the 2025/2026 La Liga season when Yamal scored from the penalty spot after being brought down by Pep Chavarria.

However, the violation was colored by controversy, with VAR not functioning properly in the first half so that the decision could not be reviewed properly.

The problem is, there is a chance that the referee cancels the decision to point a penalty point because Yamal is seen diving which led to protests from Rayo's leadership.

Despite experiencing the referee's decision to be left behind and controversy, Rayo bounced back after the break. Substitute Perez - who was recruited summer from Valencia - opened a volley after receiving a pass from a corner to confirm one point.

In fact, Rayo actually scored two other goals, but it had to be disallowed because it was offside.

However, for Garcia - who joined Barcelona from Espanyol for 25 million euros in July 2025, the home side may have won the game.

He made six saves, including a brilliant save from the chances of Andrei Ra'iu and Jorge de Frutos, and was named MVP after the final whistle sounded.

"Joan played fantastic for us today and saved this one point. I congratulated him afterwards. Glad to see the progress."

"When he controlled the ball, he was also happy to see his first pass. He really didn't make a mistake. He was confident in controlling the ball and among the post. I think the decision to sign him was right," said Flick.

Barcelona are now two points behind leaders Real Madrid and Athletic Club who are still getting the perfect result in La Liga's first three matches.

They remain unbeaten, but midfielder Frenkie de Jong said it was not a good start.

"We have to play much better than today. We lack control and precision in passing."

"We have to win every game, so it's not a good start to the season. However, we have to keep going," said De Jong.

Meanwhile, many Barcelona players will now join their national team and when they return, the transfer market will close.

Flick is looking forward to closing the transfer market on Monday, September 1, 2025, with questions about Fermin Lopez's future - the games are in demand by Premier League teams, including Chelsea - who are pushing the German coach to call for a reduced ego and a more united team.

"We're talking about the team, not the players. We can talk about a lot of players today. The most important thing is that when the transfer market is closed, everyone is 100 percent committed to this team."

"There is no ego because ego kills success. Last season we played as a whole team and we had to go back to this condition," Flick said.