Flick praises Feyenoord’s courage despite heavy Barcelona defeat

Feyenoord suffered a 5-1 defeat against Barcelona at Camp Nou in their Champions League opener, but their approach earned praise from home coach Hansi Flick. Raphinha scored twice, while Karim Adeyemi, Lamine Yamal and substitute Gabriel Jesus also found the net for the Catalan side.

Sem Steijn supplied Feyenoord’s goal by arriving at the far post. The visitors had earlier appeared to score when Nacho Ferri finished following a pass from captain Luciano Valente, but VAR ruled out the effort with Barcelona leading 3-0.

Despite the emphatic scoreline, Flick highlighted the quality and composure of Feyenoord’s football. Speaking to Ziggo Sport after the game, he said he enjoyed watching the visitors in possession and liked their playing style. Voetbalzone quoted the German as saying: “They really dared to play.” He added that Feyenoord had demonstrated that they belonged at Champions League level.

Feyenoord coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst also referred to Flick’s response during his post-match press conference. Van Bronckhorst stressed that his team had not spent the entire game defending and said the Barcelona coach complimented that ambition when the pair spoke after the final whistle. Barcelona, meanwhile, maintained their perfect start to the season after winning their opening four domestic matches before the European victory.