Barcelona coach Hansi Flick stated on Saturday that when he took over, no one anticipated the Catalan club would be in contention for three trophies by March.
Flick succeeded Xavi Hernandez last summer following a disappointing season in which Barcelona ended without any titles.
Under Flick’s guidance, Barcelona are currently tied for the La Liga lead with Real Madrid, are in the Copa del Rey semi-finals facing Atletico Madrid, and will meet Benfica in the Champions League round of 16.
With a busy schedule ahead, starting with a La Liga clash against Real Sociedad on Sunday, Flick expressed no concerns about the packed fixtures.
“The team is performing exceptionally well, they’re focused, there are no excuses, just concentrating on the next match,” Flick remarked.
“Managing everything isn’t easy, but we accept it… we’ll give it our all.”
“We’re competing in three tournaments and will fight for all three trophies. At the start of the season, no one expected to be in this position on March 1, but the team is doing fantastic,” he added.
Flick mentioned that he plans to rotate his squad against Real Sociedad in preparation for Wednesday’s Champions League match in Lisbon.
“We need fresh legs, and tomorrow is a good opportunity to make some changes. However, I won’t reveal which changes we’ll make,” the coach said.
Flick also confirmed that Danish defender Andreas Christensen has suffered another injury setback.
The 28-year-old last featured for Barcelona in August before an Achilles injury sidelined him for several months. After returning, he sustained a calf injury, and though he was expected to be available for the Real Sociedad match, Flick confirmed he will not be ready.
“We had Andreas as an option, but he picked up an injury in today’s training session. He was set to be part of the squad, but now that’s no longer possible,” Flick explained.
“We’re assessing the severity of the injury, and hopefully, it’s not too serious.”
