Spanish media piles into Barcelona after shock home loss to Las Palmas signals end of Hansi Flick's honeymoon period

Hansi Flick’s honeymoon period with Barcelona appears to be well and truly over.

He had started so well. Barca began the season with seven straight wins in La Liga.

Then came a 4-2 loss at Osasuna in late September but Barca bounced back with seven more consecutive victories across all competitions, including a 4-0 Clasico win away at Real Madrid.

However, Flick has since failed to deliver a win in three straight league matches after seeing his side beaten 2-1 at home by Las Palmas on Saturday.

That defeat followed a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo and a 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad.

‘Everything has fallen apart in three games and nobody knows exactly why,’ wrote journalist Luis Rojo on Sunday morning in a scathing article for MARCA, titled: ‘Barca, from bad to worse’.

Saturday’s shock result means Barca have had three consecutive league games without a win

As well as being unimpressed with Barca on the pitch, Rojo criticised Flick for an unsatisfactory showing during his post-match media duties.

‘He did not give a clear diagnosis of what has happened to the team,’ Rojo explained. ‘He focused on the mistakes in front of goal. A vague conclusion.’

Flick and his team were also panned elsewhere in the Spanish press. SPORT published ‘The 10 reasons for Flick’s first mini-crisis at Barca’.

Those reasons included; opponents getting used to Flick’s tactics – especially in terms of the offside trap – fatigue as a consequence of the manager’s lack of rotation, the mental fragility of a young team and the fitness of teenage superstar Lamine Yamal, who missed most of November with an ankle injury.

Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo also mentioned Flick’s offside trap in their hit piece, which came with the headline: ‘The many things that Barca need to improve’.

Mundo Deportivo writer Xavier Munoz elaborated: ‘In these times there is so much video and so much information that teams must continually reinvent themselves. The last few games have left the impression that Barca’s rivals (Real Sociedad, Celta and Las Palmas) have attacked the offside tactic much better than their previous opponents did from the end of August to the end of October.

‘The game that came close to perfection in terms of the efficiency of this defensive system was precisely the Clasico against Real Madrid, as the white team were caught offside 12 times.

‘Against Las Palmas, for example, there were less than half that number, five. And, above all, the winning goal, scored by Fabio Silva, came by exploiting that millimetric space which, by the way, also has to do with the lesser pressure exerted on the passer.’

Barca manager Hansi Flick pictured on the sidelines during Saturday’s defeat by Las Palmas

Barca will be keen to find some better form and end 2024 on a high. But Flick’s men have a tough schedule before the winter break. 

Their next three games are all away from home – against Mallorca and Real Betis in La Liga, followed by a trip to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

Barca will then end the calendar year with home games against Leganes and title rivals Atletico Madrid.

Flick’s side will have 18 days off during their winter break. This is slightly shorter than most Spanish teams due to Barca’s involvement in the Supercopa de Espana, which will take place in Saudi Arabia between January 8 and 12.