Flick sent off as Barca scores dramatic late win
Hansi Flick was sent off during stoppage-time as Barcelona edged past Girona with a dramatic last-minute winner in their LaLiga clash.
Flick shed light on the incident after the game as his side moved back to the top of the table ahead of Real Madrid's trip to Getafe on Monday (AEDT).
The game began with a 15-second pause by the players after Girona kicked off as both sides showed solidarity with players from other clubs to protest the decision to move Barcelona's December fixture against Villarreal to the United States.
The players' union initially excluded the two sides from the protest because of Barca's involvement with the match in question, but the Blaugrana and their visitors protested regardless.
Frustrations boiled over heavily in the Barcelona dugout as the game appeared to be heading towards a draw after goals from Pedri and Axel Witsel in the first half.
Ronald Araujo rescued the Blaugrana with a 93rd-minute winner, sealing all three points and sending them to the top of La Liga.
But moments before Arajuo’s winner, Flick was sent off for apparent dissent after receiving two yellow cards, meaning he will now miss next weekend’s Clasico against Real Madrid.
“I didn't do it against anyone,” Flick explained. “I was applauding [Frenkie] De Jong after the first card, but I don't know why he gave it to me after the second.
“I would never do anything against anyone. I didn't say anything against the referee. I applauded to cheer on my team.
“Now I'm not thinking about missing the Clasico. The referee didn't want to talk to me; he left, and I accept that. He's the referee.”
Flick also admitted that his side is enduring a poor run of form, having suffered back-to-back defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla prior to the international break.
“We have to play. Right now, we're in first place. Madrid has to win tomorrow,” the Barca boss added.
“We're not playing as well as we did last season. We're not in a good run. And that's what we're missing. I hope we needed this goal, which everyone celebrated. It's very important.
“We created a lot of chances, but if we’re honest, Girona created a lot in the first half. The next few games are very important for us, and we need Pedri to be fresh; he’s incredibly important for the team. We have to manage the minutes of players like that, including Lamine [Yamal].”
Flick reserved special praise for match-winner Araujo, who entered the fray in the 82nd minute and played as an emergency centre-forward with regular options Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres sidelined.
”I’m very happy for Araujo. His attitude always plays, what he gives to this club and this team.
“He can play in that position [centre forward] at certain times. I asked him before he came on if he could play there and he said yes.”
The move drew comparisons to Barca great Johan Cruyff’s famous late-game tactic of pushing centre-back Alexanko forward in search of goals, but Flick said he was unaware of the parallel.
“I didn't know [that Cruyff used Alexanko as a resource]. I thought it could be a solution for the match,” Flick said when asked about the similarity.
Barcelona’s win also marked another milestone for Flick, as the club reached 201 goals in just 71 matches under his tenure.
Only three coaches in club history have hit that mark faster: Helenio Herrera (61 matches, 1959), Juan Jose Nogues (67, 1944), and Ferdinand Daucik (70, 1952).
