Hansi Flick Unleashes Fury on Barcelona After Disappointing La Liga Season Opener

Despite Barcelona claiming a commanding 3-0 win in their opening La Liga fixture of the campaign, manager Hansi Flick expressed dissatisfaction with his team's display.

The Blaugrana began their Spanish championship defense at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, facing Mallorca in what marks the first of three straight road games to start their 2025-26 season. Barcelona continued their momentum from the previous campaign, netting twice within the opening 23 minutes of the encounter.

Mallorca's situation worsened when Manu Morlanes was dismissed after collecting his second booking in the 33rd minute. Six minutes following that incident, Vedat Muriqire also saw red for a dangerous challenge on Joan García, reducing the home side to nine players against the reigning La Liga titleholders.

However, Barcelona managed only one additional goal before referee José Luis Munuera signaled full-time. Following the contest, Flick openly criticized his squad's application.

"The match didn't please me," Flick stated. "Those are three crucial points, but the performance wasn't satisfactory.

"Having established a 2-0 advantage and with [Mallorca] reduced to nine players, I felt the team operated at half capacity, which disappointed me. Our standards can be higher."

Holding a comfortable two-goal lead against a depleted opponent, Barcelona coasted through the second period until Lamine Yamal struck in added time to decisively wrap up victory for the away team. Even this late strike failed to appease Flick's expectations.

"I'll address this with the players. I disapprove of them becoming complacent. We needed to dominate possession and dictate the tempo. More goals should have followed," the Barcelona manager continued.

"Operating at 50 or 60 percent intensity against nine opponents is unacceptable. Our pace must increase. Several aspects require improvement."

The Catalans would likely have been more clinical in attack with Robert Lewandowski available. The forward, who netted 42 times in all competitions during the previous season, was absent due to a hamstring problem.

Barcelona's next assignment takes them to Valencia where they'll face Levante. Flick will be expecting a significant improvement from his players against the recently promoted outfit.