Hans Flick, the head coach of the Spanish football team Barcelona, expressed his satisfaction with reducing the gap to Real Madrid, who are at the top of the La Liga standings, to four points after a 1-0 win against Deportivo Alavés on Sunday. However, he remained aware that the pressure is still on Barcelona to chase the lead in the title race.
Real Madrid lost 1-0 to Espanyol on Saturday, giving Barcelona an opportunity to recover some points they had lost during a series of four winless matches in December and January.
Flick said in a press conference, "Today we played very well because it was a tough match, and Alavés defended very well. I think the situation is good for us, better than before, and it was crucial to win today. The team performed well because there was pressure on them."
Barcelona currently sits in third place in the standings, one point behind second-place Atlético Madrid, who are trailing Real Madrid.
He added, "Atletico and Real Madrid are great teams, and we have to do our job. We are behind them by a few points, so we must win and apply pressure on them."
The coach also expressed happiness over the return of Robert Lewandowski, the league's top scorer, who scored the only goal of the match. He said Lewandowski is the best number nine in the box and it was extremely important for us today that he scored.
He continued, "What Lamine Yamal did today in some situations was incredible, and I am very happy that he plays for Barcelona."
Flick also revealed that Gavi, who was substituted after a head collision with Thomas Konecny, did not suffer a serious injury. He stated, "I think he's on his way home, nothing happened, that's the good news."
