Raphinha made his return to FC Barcelona’s starting lineup in Saturday’s 3–1 win over Deportivo Alavés, but the victory came with an unexpected image: head coach Hansi Flick looking downcast as he stared out toward the pitch. After Barca reclaimed the top spot in La Liga, the Brazilian winger broke his silence and addressed the moment with his manager.
For Matchday 14, Barcelona hosted Alavés at the Camp Nou, with the visitors stunning the crowd by scoring just 43 seconds in. Thanks to goals from Lamine Yamal and a Dani Olmo brace, the Catalans battled back for a 3-1 comeback win, though the performance again fell short of expectations, with goalkeeper Joan García turning into the team’s savior multiple times.
The mixed emotions were evident in Flick’s response, as the coach remained seated on the bench after the final whistle, looking dismayed despite securing the three points. Still in the dugout, he was approached by Raphinha, who exchanged a brief but meaningful conversation with Flick before heading down the tunnel.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Raphinha was asked about his coach’s reaction, and he didn’t hesitate: “The coach felt that we could have done much more on the field, and we also know that we can do much better. His feeling is that the team isn’t playing at its best version, and I agree. We have to improve a lot, but even so, I think the most important thing today was to come away with the win.“
The winger then delivered a blunt message, addressing the team’s form while looking ahead to the coming weeks. “The things we’re doing poorly—we have time to fix them, and I’m sure we’ll get back to our best. We’ll win playing well, but if there’s a game where we play badly, I don’t care—what matters is winning,” he concluded.
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Later speaking with DAZN, Flick revealed that Raphinha had offered words of support, just as he did after the Chelsea match midweek: “We will improve.” Now, with Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, and Raphinha all back from injury, the team can finally begin working toward recapturing last season’s rhythm.
Flick and a different Barcelona
Barcelona now sit atop La Liga with 34 points after Real Madrid slipped to second following their draw with Girona. Still, the performances have been far from convincing, both for fans and for Flick, especially when compared to last year’s side that powered its way to the Champions League semifinals.
Asked about the contrast between this season’s squad and last season’s in his post-match press conference, Flick offered a candid assessment: “We don’t have the control and the intensity we had last season at the moment. We have to improve, we can improve a little bit—well, a lot more—but you also have to consider we’ve had more injuries… last season everyone was available from the start.”
Not only the attacking trio, but also stars like Pedri and Gavi suffered injury blows at the start of the season, leaving Barcelona without key pieces for several games. Even after a fourth straight win in La Liga, Flick remains uneasy. “This season we also have four (wins) in a row. It’s good for the moment, but we are never happy with this, and we need to improve many things and work on that,” he concluded.
