Hansi Flick has called on Barcelona to display their quality consistently following their disappointing 2-2 draw against Real Betis, which has left them vulnerable at the top of LaLiga.
Barca twice took the lead at the Benito Villamarin Stadium through goals from Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, but were unable to hold on as Betis fought back with strikes from Giovani Lo Celso and substitute Assane Diao to secure a share of the points.
With the draw, Flick’s side now have 38 points from 17 matches, but their second-placed rivals Real Madrid, who have 33 points, can overtake them if they win their two games in hand.
“It wasn’t a good game. We are a young team and we need to improve a lot,” Flick told reporters. “We must be stronger, especially when we play away. We have quality, but we have to show it in every game. We could have played better.”
Flick also expressed his dissatisfaction with the team’s style of play, stating, “But we’ve been slow in passing, with a lot of long balls… it’s not what we want and not our strength. We have to focus on our strengths and what we have to do.”
Barcelona’s struggles to maintain leads in matches have been evident since November 2024, with OptaJose revealing that no team has dropped more points from winning positions than Barcelona in LaLiga during this period.
During the match against Betis, Flick was shown a red card in the second half for protesting after Betis were awarded a penalty. However, he believes he did nothing wrong and has no plans to appeal the decision.
“Marcus [Sorg], my assistant, did a good job. We scored a goal with him on the sidelines,” Flick said. “I didn’t say anything to anyone, it was just my reaction. It took a long time to decide if it was a penalty or not. If you need so much time, it can be a doubt. I don’t agree with my sending off. It has never happened to me before. I got angry at myself, not at anyone else.”
Barcelona’s next challenge will be a Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund in Germany on Wednesday, followed by a LaLiga match against Leganes on December 15.
