BARCELONA :Barcelona manager Hansi Flick urged his players to remain focused and avoid any premature celebration as they moved to the brink of the LaLiga title with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Real Madrid on Sunday.
Barca overcome a two-goal deficit as they earned their fourth consecutive win over Madrid in all competitions this season.
Barcelona, now seven points clear at the top, could secure the LaLiga title as early as Wednesday if Real Madrid fail to win at Mallorca.
However, regardless of Real’s result, a Barcelona victory in their city derby against Espanyol on Thursday would clinch the championship for the Catalans.
“I don’t feel like we are champions yet and I believe my players think the same way,” Flick told a press conference.
“It would be nice to win the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double and, yes, one win is enough for us to do it. But this is football.
“Sure, we are in a good position but you never know what will happen. We have three matches ahead of us and all our rivals want to beat us, so we must remain focused.”
Flick praised his players for their resilience in fighting back from two early goals by Kylian Mbappe to secure a crucial win that left Madrid on the verge of a trophyless season.
“It was not easy to recover after going down 2-0, but the mentality of the team is just remarkable, how they are always looking to attack relentlessly. It’s nice to see them out there on the pitch,” Flick said.
He added that after Tuesday’s heartbreaking extra-time loss to Inter Milan that saw them exit the Champions League at the semi-final stage, the win was a statement of his players’ grit and resiliency.
“It’s fantastic. And it’s all to do with training, how they like to compete with each other. You can see it in the training sessions. In the last four months it has not been easy due to the relentless schedule. I’m proud of the mentality and the attitude of my team.”
Flick also had high praise for 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, who was a constant threat on the right and scored a stunning equaliser in the first half.
“He is doing great. He has confidence in himself. He’s also very clever,” Flick said of Yamal. “For me, what’s important is that after the games he looks forward. His goal was crucial and at 17 years old, he has so many qualities. It’s just great to have him around,” Flick concluded.
