Barcelona Not Focusing On The La Liga Title Competition

Barcelona are not very focused on competing for the La Liga title (Instagram/@fcbarcelona).

JAKARTA - Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said his team only focused on themselves after beating Sevilla 4-1 on Monday, February 10, 2025, early morning WIB, to reduce the gap to two points from La Liga leaders Real Madrid.

Robert Lewandowski, Fermin Lopez, Raphinha, and Eric Garcia all scored when Barcelona drew in the Madrid derby (Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid 1-1) on Sunday, February 9, 2025.

Although only two points away from Real Madrid and one point from Atletico Madrid, Hansi Flick's men in third place did not want to focus on winning the La Liga title.

"We don't care about other clubs. We have to do our job. We did very well today. We want to focus on ourselves, not other teams," Flick told a news conference after the match that revived the title race in Spain.

Barcelona are now unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions by 2025. They have scored four or more goals in those seven matches.

Atletico manager Diego Simeone said on Sunday that they were the best team in Spain.

Flick also commented on the Argentine coach's statement, who was boasting.

"I think in La Liga there are four or five really good teams. We are one of them."

"We have our own style, how we want to play. We focus on that, not other things," Flick said in response to Simeone's comments.

Meanwhile, Barcelona's victory against Sevilla in Sanchez Pizjuan was not without obstacles.

Lewandowski's initial goal was quickly equalized by Ruben Vargas. Ronald Araujo was then forced off the field with an injury after 20 minutes.

The defender will undergo a test on his ankle problem on Monday, February 10, 2025.

The substitute, Fermin Lopez, returned Barcelona's lead early in the second half. Raphinha added a third goal before Lopez got a red card in the 60th minute, just 15 minutes after entering.

Flick was very happy with the way his team had the game, with Garcia's header scoring his fourth when he appeared with 10 players to seal the win.

"I'm very proud of the team because when we got a red card, it was a good lesson for us."

"It's not our style or the way we want to play, with (formation) 4-4-1, but we're holding on very well."

"Of course, we scored again. So, I'm very happy with that," said Flick again.

Barcelona players will be rewarded for the win on a three-day holiday as Flick takes advantage of his free time in the middle of the week, which comes through a straight pass to the last 16 of the Champions League, to give his squad a break.

"We are now in a good situation and we want to continue like this. When we won three points today, I said three days off."

"So, the team has three days to recover. They deserve it. I said don't do stupid things, keep your body, your recovery."

"Then, on Thursday, February 13, 2025, we started preparing for the next match against Rayo (Vallecano) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025)," said Flick.