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Hansi Flick wants Barcelona to avoid defending too much from the back despite their pre-season friendly win against Manchester City on Tuesday (July 30) in Orlando, Florida. The two teams played out a 2-2 draw but the Cityzens took the win on penalties by a 4-1 margin.
Pau Victor opened the scoring in the 24th minute before Nico O'Reilly leveled things 15 minutes later. Barcelona were arguably defending too deep for that goal, with eight players either level or behind Josko Gvardiol when he made the decisive pass to O'Reilly.
Pablo Torre put his team in front in first-half stoppage time with a neat finish from the edge of the box. But it didn't take long for the Cityzens to equalize after the break, as Grealish made it 2-2 at the hour mark.
Following his team's win on penalties, Flick said (via BarcaBlaugranes):
"I’m very happy, we saw some great things. We played against a great team with fantastic players. I’m very happy with my team. We defended like a team and we also attacked like a team. But we defended too much from the back. It’s not what I like the most. We have to improve on that."
It is worth mentioning that Barcelona's starting XI had only Clement Lenglet (29) who was older than 22 in defense and defensive midfield. Flick will undoubtedly switch to more experienced options when the season gets underway.
Hansi Flick praises young Barcelona players in Man City draw
Hansi Flick was happy with Barcelona's youngsters and goalkeeper Inaki Pena after the win against Manchester City. Pau Victor, 22, was the standout performer in the match as he scored his team's first and played a big role in the second with a smart dummy.
The likes of Alex Valle (20), Hector Fort, Marc Bernal (both 17), and Marc Casado (20) were among a host of youngsters who got valuable playing time. Pena, meanwhile, was impressive between the posts.
The 25-year-old made four saves during the match and kept out two spot-kicks to help his team beat Manchester City. After full-time at the Camping World Stadium, Flick continued, via the aforementioned source:
"It’s fantastic, especially for the youngsters. It was tough, against a big team, and we have competed. I’m proud of the young players. We also had a fantastic goalkeeper. We were a team and Ander was also important in the penalties.”
Barca's next pre-season outing is a blockbuster El Clasico against Real Madrid at the MetLife Stadium on August 3.
