German Hansi Flick, the head coach of FC Barcelona's first football team, spoke about his team's match against Athletic Bilbao in the English league.
FC Barcelona's first football team is preparing to continue the current 2026/2027 season after the match against Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish league.
Barcelona faced their counterpart Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, as part of the postponed first round of the 2026/2027 Spanish league season.
The "Spotify Camp Nou" stadium hosted the match between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, which ended with a 2-0 victory for Barça.
Barcelona had previously won their last match against Elche with a clean sheet of five goals, as part of the second round of the Spanish league "La Liga".
Read also | The date of Barcelona's next match after beating Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish league
Young Egyptian international star Hamza Abdel Karim did not participate in the match for the second consecutive time, while the match marked the first appearance of Rodri, Barcelona's new signing.
Flick said, in statements via the "DAZN" network, which were relayed by "Marca": "I don't know if Raphinha is better as a center forward or not."
He added: "For me, the most important thing is the success of the plan, whether Raphinha plays as a center forward or another player. His off-the-ball movement and great enthusiasm make him the ideal choice for this position."
He continued: "We have a clear idea of how to attack, and I think we played a great match today. We created many opportunities and only scored two goals, but we created many chances to score."
He added: "A footballer does not always score a lot of goals. It is very important that we do not concede any goals. In some situations, when the score was 1-0, we lacked some calm."
He continued: "Ipsert has high technical skill; he handles situations excellently, whether in attack or defense."
He concluded: "I was surprised by his performance today on the left wing. He is a top-class player. He has room for development like other young players, but he is a great player."