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Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has opened up on the reason for their defeat against Osasuna. The Blaugrana lost 4-2 at El Sadar in La Liga on Saturday, September 28.
Flick made a number of rotations to his starting XI, with the likes of Raphinha and Lamine Yamal starting on the bench. However, it backfired as Ante Budimir opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Bryan Zaragoza made it 2-0 in the 28th minute before Pau Victor pulled one back for Barca in the 53rd minute.
Budimir then scored his second of the night in the 72nd minute from the penalty spot after Sergi Dominguez was deemed to have fouled him in the box. Abel Bretones made it 4-1 in the 85th minute before Lamine Yamal scored another for Barcelona four minutes later.
After the game, Hansi Flick mentioned his side's injuries, saying (via Fabrizio Romano):
“We have many injured players, but no excuses.
“If you look at our squad at the moment, we only have three midfielders, and one defender playing as a midfielder. It's not easy, but we accept it."
Barcelona have a number of key players out injured at the moment. They include Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, and Fermin Lopez.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick on what he told his players after Osasuna defeat
Barcelona dominated possession against Osasuna on Saturday with 75%. They also had 12 attempts with six being on target as compared to the hosts' five attempts on target out of 11. However, they were arguably the second-best side on the night in terms of actual threat. They managed just 0.68 xG (expected goals) while Osasuna managed 2.24.
After the match, Hansi Flick shared what he told his players, saying (via Barca Blaugranes):
“You have to accept these defeats. We haven’t played very well. I think it’s my responsibility to protect the players, because they’ve been playing a lot of minutes. But I didn’t expect we’d play like this.
“I’ve told the team that we have to keep going. We play on Tuesday, on Sunday... and we’re on the right track. We made a lot of mistakes and they did very well."
This was Barcelona's first defeat in La Liga this season and second across competitions. They still sit atop the league table with 21 points in eight games. They are four points above Real Madrid, who will face Atletico Madrid away on Sunday.
