Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick took full blame for his side’s surprise 4-2 defeat at Osasuna on Saturday night.
Barca’s perfect start to the new La Liga season came to an end with defeat in Pamplona, with Flick’s decision to make five changes to his starting lineup called into question.
Lamine Yamal and Raphinha were among the players dropped to the bench in the hope of keeping the squad fresh, but this decision backfired and Barcelona were dealt a hefty blow.
At his post-match press conference, Flick explained his decision to rotate the team and took responsibility for the result.
“We had a lot of changes in the team and this is maybe one reason for [the performance], but it was necessary,” the former Bayern Munich boss said.
“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.
“I had no other choice. If you see at the moment our team, we have three midfield players, plus we had one defender who is Eric [Garcia, in midfield].
“Then we have [Marc] Casado, we have Pedri and we have Pablo [Torre]. So, four players. And you have to think about what players are starting. This is not easy but we accept it.
“After the break in October, there are many players back. The situation is we have many injured players, but no excuses. We have to accept the defeat, it was not our best day.
“I am always looking forward and I am positive. We have to make our first win in the Champions League on Tuesday, because three points is very important.
“It won’t be easy because Young Boys have a good team, a very fast team. We have to take care of that also, so we will see how we do it.”
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