Barcelona still not at their best admits Flick before Atletico clash

VIDEO SHOWS: FC BARCELONA HOLDING TRAINING SESSION, COACH HANSI FLICK SPEAKING AT PRESS CONFERENCE AHEAD OF LA LIGA MATCH AGAINST ATLETICO MADRID  RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT  SHOWS: BARCELONA, SPAIN (DECEMBER 1, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)  1. MIDFIELDER PEDRI, FORWARDS FERRAN TORRES AND MARCUS RASHFORD WALKING ONTO TRAINING PITCH  2.  FORWARD LAMINE YAMAL, MIDFIELDER MARC CASADO AND DEFENDER ALEJANDRO BALDE ENTERING PITCH 3. GOALKEEPER MARC-ANDRE TER STEGEN AND FORWARD ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI AMONG OTHER PLAYERS WALKING ONTO PITCH 4. GOALKEEPER JOAN GARCIA JOKING WITH LEFT BACK GERARD MARTIN 5. PLAYERS GATHERING  6. COACH HANSI FLICK TALKING WITH STAFF MEMBER THIAGO ALCANTARA  7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FC BARCELONA COACH HANSI FLICK SAYING:    “We play against a fantastic team with a lot of quality in there and for me (with) one of the best coaches. So it will be a tough match, but at the end it's like that, we are now at the top of the table, this is what we want, but this is not the end of the season.” 8. VARIOUS OF FORWARD RAPHINHA AND DEFENDER ERIC GARCÍA WARMING UP, JUGGLING AND VOLLEYBALLING  9. PLAYERS WARMING UP 10. TER STEGEN BLOCKING BALLS  11. GOALKEEPER JOAN GARCIA BLOCKING BALLS  12.  PLAYERS WARMING UP  13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FC BARCELONA COACH HANSI FLICK SAYING:      “We will see tomorrow (about injured players coming back). We took care of Raphinha today; he only did the rondo and after that he was out. But it’s the next step we have to take with him. I have the confidence he can play 90 minutes, but we will see what happens. At the end with Ronald (Araujo), he is not ready at the moment. It’s a private situation, and I don’t want to say more. Please respect that. I think that’s all I can and want to say.”  14. JOURNALISTS TYPING DURING PRESS CONFERENCE  15. RAPHINHA AND ERIC GARCIA LAUGHING DURING DRILL  16. MIDFIELDERS PEDRO FERNÁNDEZ, CASADO AND TEAM MATES DURING WARM UP DRILLS  17.  (SOUNDBITE) (English) FC BARCELONA COACH HANSI FLICK SAYING:      “Maybe this season is more difficult (to win) because it’s not easy. Everyone wants to win against us, wants to win against the champions. It’s about that, you are right, we are at the top of the table but we are not at our best level at the moment. We have to go through these steps to play the best football we can.”  18. FLICK LEAVING PRESS CONFERENCE ROOM  19. MIDFIELDERS ANDREAS CHRISTENSEN AND MARC BERNAL WALKING WITH BALL  20. RAPHINHA CHASING BALL IN RONDO DRILL  21. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS PASSING IN RONDO DRILL  22. SESSION IN PROGRESS  STORY: Barcelona are still not at their best despite topping La Liga at the weekend, coach Hansi Flick  told reporters on Monday (December 1). The Catalans won at the weekend against Alaves, leapfrogging Real Madrid, who were held to a third consecutive draw. However there are four clubs jostling for top spot, with Villareal and Atletico Madrid also in the mix. And Atletico could jump from fourth to first if they beat Barcelona by an unliklely four goals or more on Tuesday.  "We are at the top of the table but we are not at our best level at the moment," said Flick, who's team have been winning in La Liga but not in the Champions League. "We have to go through these steps to play the best football we can.  (Production: Horaci Garcia, Miguel Gutierrez) 

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