Barcelona manager delighted for win in his first La Liga game

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has expressed delight in his winning start to life at the Blaugrana after Saturday’s 2-1 win over Valencia at Mestella. Hansi Flick replaced Xavi Hernandez as the manager of the Catalonian club at the end of last season after some controversial decisions by the club.

Hansi Flick only took charge of four games in the pre-season but only won once against Real Madrid in one of the games as Barcelona lost in the Joan Gamper Trophy to Monaco just a week before their first La Liga fixture, putting the pressure on Flick to try and get his formula right.

Barcelona started the game decently but fell behind just before halftime to a Hugo Duro strike just before halftime, but the visitors equalized going into the break and were only behind for five minutes. Robert Lewandowski was fed by teenager Lamine Yamal, and just a few minutes into the second half, the Polish striker got the winner as Robert Lewandowski secured his first goal of the 2024/2025 La Liga season.

Hansi Flick was delighted with the response of the team and was glad that they bagged all three points. 

“We knew how difficult it was going to be to play Valencia. Their first half was good, but we’re happy with the three points. Our next match will be difficult, too, but we have a whole week to prepare. We have to perform like we did in the second half. I’m satisfied with that. We’re focusing on that.” Flick said.

Furthermore, Hansi Flick said he is keen to keep the German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan who had showed interest in exiting the club before the end of the transfer window.

Meanwhile, he showed believe the former Manchester City midfielder will stay back at the club while revealing that he didn’t play in Saturday’s win because he wasn’t available.