Barcelona coach Hansi Flick blamed the defeat against Las Palmas on a lack of defensive stability and effectiveness in front of goal. The Canary Islands suffered their first home defeat under Flick and seemed to be the better team for long periods of the game.

The German coach is going through his toughest spell since joining as Barcelona coach, having won just one of his last four games and picking up a point in his last three league games. Flick was asked about the fact that the return of injured players to the team coincided with their loss of form.

“I believe in the players. I have faith in her, but things are as they are. When I started here I already told them there would be no excuses. It is normal that when some players return from injury they are not at their highest level, but if we play as a team we should be able to beat any team, but if some players fall behind we will “It’s not going well.”

He also didn’t think they had a trust issue. One of his areas of focus was that as a team they once again didn’t press well, which led to problems against Celta Vigo.

“I don’t think the players lack confidence. Defense is not just about the four players on defense. Players alone cannot win games. It’s always about the team. We need good connections in defense and attack and today we didn’t have them.”

“We had 70% possession and 27 shots, I think, and we didn’t take our chances. We have the quality to do it.”

“We have to change, we have to defend better. If you don’t score a goal, it’s more difficult to keep a clean sheet. But it’s not just a matter for the defensive players, but for the entire team. “We need to go back and reconnect.”

Flick’s side travel to Son Moix on Tuesday to face RCD Mallorca in a game where they will be desperate to pick up three points. Jagoba Arrasate’s side will be no pushovers, however, as at the time of writing they are in fifth place and one behind a win against Valencia. Flick’s team knows that their gap to Real Madrid is also likely to narrow.