´We´ll see a different Barca in the return leg´ – Flick promises improvement against Newcastle

Hansi Flick promises that “we’ll see a different Barca in the return leg” after they salvaged a late draw against Newcastle United in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash.

Barcelona were far from their best at St. James’ Park, but a last-gasp Lamine Yamal penalty was enough to ensure they did not have a deficit to overturn in next week’s return fixture.

Newcastle had taken the lead through Harvey Barnes – who had also hit the post – in the 86th minute, but Malick Thiaw clumsily felled Dani Olmo deep in stoppage time to give Yamal the chance to equalise.

That leveller, timed at 95:50, was Barcelona’s second latest Champions League goal (excluding extra time) on record since 2003-04, after Neymar’s strike against Juventus in the 2015 final (96:38).

Flick conceded his side were tired, but when asked if the return leg would be different, he simply told Movistar: “We’ll see a different Barca in the return leg.”

“We’ve had a lot of previous matches and injured players,” he added. “[Marc] Bernal and Pedri are coming off a period of inactivity.

“We need to improve, that’s clear, but the positive thing for us is the result. After being 1-0 down, it was fantastic to be able to come back and get a draw.”

96 – At 95:50, Lamine Yamal scored Barcelona’s latest penalty goal in the UEFA Champions League.

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Barcelona managed nine shots overall, with Yamal’s penalty just their second on target in the contest. They did edge the expected goals (xG) battle, though their 1.4 xG was inflated by the penalty.

As a team, Barca collectively lost possession 118 times, with Joan Garcia and Joao Cancelo doing so 12 times each, second only to Yamal’s 20.

And Flick was unimpressed by how lax his side were on the ball, especially against Newcastle’s proactive approach.

“We lost possession a lot,” Flick said in his press conference. “They have fast players. But I am happy with the defensive work.

“Before the match, I wouldn’t have thought it was a bad result. There are no excuses.

“We didn’t want to take any risks with Eric [Garcia] because he’s an important player for us. [Ronald] Araujo played well, and when Xavi Espart came on, he did too.

“It’s not easy to play against this team. We have to keep improving because we have great potential.”