Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has downplayed the clash between the two benches during his side’s 4-0 thumping of Real Madrid in Saturday’s El Clasico, Soccernet.football reports.
The Blaugrana handed Madrid their first league defeat since September 2023 (a 3-1 loss to Atletico Madrid) on Saturday. Robert Lewandowski scored twice before Lamine Yamal and Raphina completed the rout.
Following Raphina’s goal which was Barca’s fourth of the game, the Blaugrana bench went wild with their celebrations. Some players as well as Flick’s assistant Marcus Sorug crossed the technical area and invaded Madrid’s space.
Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelloti was left furious as he made his feelings known during the game. At full-time, the Italian shed some light on the situation.
“What happened was not with Flick, but with his assistant. He did not behave like a gentleman, I told him and Flick agreed,” he said as per Barca Blaugranes.
Flick on the other hand, chose not to dwell on the matter too much, opting instead to heap some well deserved praise on his players for delivering a genuinely professional performance.
“I haven’t seen it. I’ve spoken to him, but it’s a normal situation. We celebrated the goal. We’re adults enough to talk about this,” the German said of the incident.
“The players showed their quality in front of goal. Everyone knew what to do, in defense and in attack. I always say that we like to improve. Today wasn’t easy, but we defended well. We believe in our idea. But we have to keep going,” he continued.
“I always say it, I’m happy to be working at Barcelona. To live in Barcelona. It’s a fantastic job. I feel happy. We had a fantastic game and I’m proud. I’m happy for Iñaki, who did well. It’s important to keep a clean sheet. The players have more confidence. They celebrated it in the dressing room, it’s nice to see.”