Hansi Flick unfazed by PSG and Real Madrid defeats: 'We have a very long road ahead of us'

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick says he is not worried by back-to-back defeats, stressing before the Alavés game that the season is "a very long road".

Barcelona made a perfect start to the campaign by winning their first 11 matches in all competitions, but they then lost 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League before going down 2-1 to arch-rivals Real Madrid in El Clásico.

Despite suffering their first league defeat through a late Kylian Mbappé goal, Flick's side remain top of LaLiga, two points clear of second-placed Atlético Madrid.

Injuries also played a part in both defeats, but the German coach is staying calm and is fully focused on taking three points against Alavés.

Speaking at his press conference, Flick said: "As I always say, it is a very long road. Nothing is irreversible. We lost to Real Madrid, nobody likes that, but we have to deal with it. As I said before, it was possible for us to win that game and we had chances. But we have to accept the defeat and learn from it. We have absences such as Jules Koundé, Xavi Espart, Dani Olmo, Eric García and Andreas Christensen. Managing that is not easy, we have to find solutions. Our goal for the weekend is clear: the most important thing is to get the three points."

Alavés, who started the season well and climbed as high as seventh after their first 10 matches, have gone without a win in their last six games (two draws, four defeats).

Asked about the defensive weaknesses, Flick said: "In the end, defending is not just the job of the defenders; even the striker defends. Everyone is involved. First of all, we must not give the ball away cheaply. Against Real Madrid we lost the ball easily several times, and that is not good. It happens to us quite often; we have to play smarter and with more focus. When we are defending in our own box, marking opponents properly is also very important, and we did not do that as we should have. We have to improve in these situations. We are working on it, we are taking it into account and we are talking to the players."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Barcelona – Lamine Yamal: The young star has scored 38 goals in 111 LaLiga appearances and ranks second, behind Mbappé (41 goals in 79 matches), among the top scorers before turning 20 in Europe's top five leagues in the 21st century.

Alavés – Lucas Boye: Alavés' top scorer this season with 5 goals, Lucas Boye has yet to find the net in the eight LaLiga matches he has played against Barcelona in his career.