“You can’t see that with Barcelona” - Liverpool legend warns Hansi Flick to fix ‘gamble’ if he wants to win LaLiga title

Liverpool legend Steve Nicol believes Barcelona manager Hansi Flick needs to fix his defence quickly. He claims that the Catalan side have been leaking goals, and it will come back to haunt them later in the season.

Speaking on ESPN FC, Nicol said that Barcelona's weakness on the pitch has been their defence since Flick took over in the summer of 2024. He believes that they are being saved by the goals scored by the attackers and said:

“I think Hansi Flick has been looking at his defence since last year. The best teams don’t go through a season thinking like, ‘okay, we are sometimes pretty vulnerable defensively, but you know what? We’re going to score loads of goals [and win games].’"

Nicol added that the gamble to score more goals than the opponents, regardless of how many they concede, will not work in the long run and said:

“To have that sort of outlook is a gamble. He has to do something with the backline, there will be days when the forwards are not just quite at it. They maybe won’t create, or maybe won’t be finishing [well]. Whatever it may be, there will be games and days when they are not at it. So to win a title, you have to be able to rely on your backline. You have to rely on it to be solid, exactly how you want it to be, game after game. You can’t see that with Barcelona. They give everybody an opportunity. If there is one thing that Flick has to figure out, that’s what it would be.”

Flick's side won the Copa del Rey and La Liga last season, while also reaching the UEFA Champions League semifinals, where they were defeated by Inter Milan.

Barcelona manager not looking at the table after overtaking Real Madrid

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has insisted that they will not focus on the league table, after jumping to the top spot for the first time this season. The Catalan side's 2-1 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday, September 28, saw them move a point clear of Real Madrid, who lost 5-2 to Atletico Madrid.

Flick believes that the position is temporary and they need to focus on winning more points to maintain it, without worrying about what others are doing. He said (via Barca Universal):

“This is temporary. It’s fine, it puts pressure on our opponents, on Real Madrid and those behind us. We have to defend this position.”

Barcelona face PSG in the UEFA Champions League this week, before taking on Sevilla in the league during the weekend. The players then split for the international break.