‘Noise’ cancelling: Barça stay course, close gap

Hansi Flick said he is blocking out the noise from pundits and ex-players after a Robert Lewandowski hat trick helped Barcelona beat Celta Vigo 4-2 to move within three points of LaLiga leaders Real Madrid.

Barça had won just three of their previous seven matches before Sunday’s trip to Balaídos, with a 3-3 draw against Club Brugge in midweek intensifying the criticism of Flick’s decision to play such a high defensive line.

That line was again breached twice in a thrilling first half in Vigo, but Barça produced a controlled performance after the break to clinch a much-needed win before the international break.

“I always think to say something about the experts, former players and coaches, but no, I will not do it,” Flick smiled in his post-game news conference when asked if the second half was an example of how to execute his playing style.

“I’ll give you too many things to speak about and it’s too much noise!

“But, yes, for me it’s like that. We will analyse this match like we analyse every match and try to make things better. This is our job. Not everything was good; we will speak about this.

“For me, the most important thing is [the players] have the confidence and belief in what we’re doing and the second half is a good example of how we want to do it.”

An end-to-end first half was not dissimilar to Barça’s midweek draw in Belgium. Celta twice came from behind to cancel out two goals from Lewandowski — the first a penalty and the second a finish from close range after a Marcus Rashford cross — through Sergio Carreira and Borja Iglesias.

Lamine Yamal restored Barça’s lead just before the break and Lewandowski, making his first start in over a month, completed his hat trick in the second period with a header from another Rashford delivery to seal the points.

“Yes [I am satisfied],” Flick added. “I appreciate a lot what I saw today. At the moment it’s like, especially in the first half, we made some mistakes, more than in the second half, and they use it. Two mistakes for the goals.

“But what I saw, also in first half, we controlled the game. It was a really good match with the ball and especially in the second half we defend much better.

“I think the second half gives us confidence also for the next matches. This is what we need. When you can make pressure on the opponent it’s a good way. We did it. I like what I saw, especially in the second half.”

The victory moved Barça to within three points of Madrid, who were held to a goalless draw by Rayo Vallecano earlier on Sunday, providing further motivation for the Blaugrana players ahead of the match.

“It was one of the craziest games of this season, especially in the first half,” Lewandowski told reporters. “We scored three, conceded two, but I am very happy because we won a very difficult game.

“We knew if we win today, we would cut the gap on Real Madrid to three points. But it’s not just that, we always want to be ready. We know we have to do some things better, but all season it’s important to see what we can do better.”

Despite missing a large chunk of the season injured, Lewandowski has now scored seven goals in just 449 minutes of LaLiga action.

“Of course I am very happy, not only with my goals but with how we played,” he added. “Today we played as a team. I think also in these kind of games it’s important.

“After what happened in Rayo, we said this is so important to coming back in the [title] race. This type of game helps us a lot and gives us more power for the next games.”

Barça’s win was slightly tempered by a late Frenkie de Jong red card for a second booking. As a result, the Dutch midfielder will miss the Athletic Club game after the international break suspended, leaving Flick short in midfield.

Pedri is also a doubt for that fixture due to an injury, while Marc Casadó was pulled from the lineup in Vigo minutes before kickoff after picking up a knock in the warm up. He will undergo tests on Monday.