JAKARTA - There is no vacation for Barcelona players after picking up a disappointing result with a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United in the first leg of the Champions League 16th round. Coach Hansi Flick stated that the second match, which was held at home at Camp Nou, would be the deciding factor for both teams.
St James' Park Stadium almost became a prison for Barca players. Fortunately, Lamine Yamal's penalty in the last minute saved Barca from defeat in the duel presented on Wednesday, March 11, 2026 WIB. The goal that made the score equal was because Barca had conceded through Harvey Barnes in the 86th minute.
The result makes Barca and Newcastle have equal chances to qualify for the quarter finals. Only Barca is slightly favored because they play at home on Friday, March 20, 2026 early morning WIB. However, they must be able to beat The Magpies in the match. If it draws again, the match continues to extra time and even a penalty shootout.
Before facing Newcastle, Raphinha et al. will face an easy test against Sevilla in the Spanish LaLiga competition. The match, which will be held at the end of this week, must be won by Barca, who are in first place in the standings, in order to maintain the point gap with Real Madrid.
The reason is that Barca is only four points ahead of Madrid. Moreover, the match was held at home so that the target of three points must be achieved.
"However, we have to give the players a rest. The players' task now is to make the best use of the break. Furthermore, they are preparing for the following match on Sunday," said Flick as quoted by ESPN.
Even though he gave the players time to rest and was embarrassed by the recovery, Flick did not give them a day off. The reason is, the team plays a match with a schedule that is included in the dense.
"We only have a few days to prepare as much as possible. So we don't have any days off. This is only natural. When you play in the Champions League and LaLiga, it's only natural that you have to play every three or four days," said the former German national team coach.
"Above all, we have to be able to adapt to a busy schedule. We also have to prepare well for the match," said Flick again.
Flick admitted that the draw was actually quite satisfactory because Barca had difficulty every time they visited Newcastle's home.
In addition, he could not field the best squad with the absence of Alejandro Balde, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen. Furthermore, defender Eric Garcia is also absent due to injury.
They conceded the first goal when the match entered the final part of the second half. When the match was expected to end in a draw, Barca got an advantage when Malik Thiaw brought down Dani Olmo in the penalty box in injury time. The penalty was executed by Yamal who saved the Blaugrana from defeat.
"We have to accept the result [draw] and have to play better next week. Honestly, it's not easy to play a game here. The atmosphere of the game is really fantastic. Their game is also amazing. Their players are very dynamic and fast. It really makes it difficult for us," he said.
"So you really have to focus 100%. We have to concentrate fully and have a strong defense," said Flick.
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