Flick unfazed by recent losses ahead of Alaves
Barcelona is looking to bounce back after two straight defeats, with head coach Hansi Flick unfazed ahead of facing Alaves at Camp Nou in LaLiga.
Barcelona had made a perfect start to the season, winning each of its first 11 games in all competitions, but last week, it was beaten 4-2 by Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League before going down 2-1 to rival Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the season.
Flick's side remains top of LaLiga despite Kylian Mbappe's late goal condemning it to a first league defeat of the campaign, but now sits just two points ahead of second-place Atletico Madrid.
Injuries have also played their part in those two defeats, and Flick remains calm about his side's recent results, with all his focus on getting three points against Alaves.
"It's what I've always said: this is a very long road," Flick said.
"Nothing is irreversible. We lost against Real Madrid, and nobody likes that, but we have to manage it, and as I said before, I think it was possible to win that game, and we had chances.
"But we have to accept the defeat and learn from it. We have Jules [Kounde] out, Xavi Espart, Dani Olmo, Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen… It's not easy to manage this, and we have to find solutions.
"For [Saturday], we're clear: the most important thing is the three points."
Alaves made a strong start to LaLiga and was seventh after 10 games, but it is winless in its past six matches, losing four of those.
While Barcelona is the top scorer this season, netting 40 goals in total, Alaves may feel it has a chance, with the reigning champion also conceding in six of its games so far.
"Ultimately, defending isn't just the defenders' job; even the striker defends," Flick said when asked about Barca's defensive fragility.
"Everyone is involved. To begin with, we can't lose the ball easily. We lost possession a few times against Real Madrid, which isn't good.
"It's something that happens to us often, and we need to play more intelligently, more focused. When we're defending in our own area, it's also important to mark our opponents well, and we didn't do that either.
"We have to improve in these situations. We train it, we take it into account, and we talk about it with the players."
