Hansi Flick
Barcelona coach, Hansi Flick, said he is to blame after wholesale changes resulted in a 4-2 loss at Osasuna on Saturday as his side’s seven-game winning run in LaLiga was ended.
Lamine Yamal and Raphinha were among five players rested after the midweek win over Getafe as Barça tasted defeat in the league for the first time this season.
“We had a lot of changes in the team and this is maybe one reason for [the performance], but it was necessary,” Flick said in his post-game news conference.
“We had so many matches and a lot of players had played so many minutes. I had to take care, this is my responsibility. If you want to blame someone for this defeat, blame me.”
Barça would have matched the club record of eight successive wins at the start of a LaLiga campaign by winning at El Sadar, but they fell behind to Ante Budimir’s header in the 18th minute.
Bryan Zaragoza rounded goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, filling in for the injured Marc-André ter Stegen, to double Osasuna’s advantage before half-time, but Pau Víctor’s first Barça goal got the away side back into the game after the break.