Barcelona coach Hansi Flick admitted that his team did not deserve to win against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium (0-2) and that if they secured the three points, it was only thanks to the quality of his players and the performance of Espanyol's former goalkeeper Joan García. 'Espanyol played a great match. I'm very happy to have made the decision to sign him last summer,' he said of the goalkeeper from Sallent. Nevertheless, Flick hopes this victory will give his squad 'more confidence' ahead of the Spanish Supercup after beating 'a great team that played a great match'. 'We didn't play well, but the opponent had a fantastic game. They were fantastic, and I want to congratulate Manolo (González, Espanyol's coach) on the good football his team is playing this season,' he added. Flick was asked several times about Joan García's performance, who 'played fantastically' and kept a clean sheet for the third consecutive match. 'When you see him in a match like this, it's fantastic,' the coach said. 'I want to thank Joan García for the match he had. It's very important to have a player like Joan García. He has been incredible, he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world,' stated the German manager in a press conference. In this sense, he lamented the first 80 minutes his players completed, which in his opinion 'did not show the intensity' that his rival did. However, he celebrated the two goals scored by Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski in the final stages of the match, which, according to Flick, 'sent a message to LaLiga'. 'We didn't deserve this result, but the quality after the changes decided the match. Great teams have goalkeepers like that.'
