Barcelona remain in Seville after flight disruption

Barcelona are still in Seville after their plane was unable to take off overnight. Weather conditions at El Prat prevented the team’s flight, leaving the squad to spend the night in the Andalusian capital after their win at La Cartuja.

A departure at noon on Sunday is a possibility, but depends on securing a time slot at Seville airport. Flying directly to Paris for Tuesday’s Champions League match is also still under consideration. The disruption means Flick will have to revise the training schedule ahead of the fixture, which is part of the third matchday of the league phase.

In La Liga, Barça are 1st with 27 points after 9 matches, while Sevilla are 5th with 14 points after 8 matches, a 13-point gap.

The win at La Cartuja was also accompanied by controversy over a Betis player’s sending-off. The Betis manager denounced what he considered incomprehensible refereeing decisions and said the 5-2 score did not reflect how the match unfolded. Pellegrini disputed Bernal’s dismissal, saying Lamine had provoked and pushed him before the Betis player reacted. He also said both players had been cautioned after the exchange.

Pellegrini described the game as balanced while both teams had 11 players, and said Betis had been competitive until the score reached 3-2. He also pointed to Héctor Bellerín’s chance to put his side ahead as the balance began to shift. Flick, meanwhile, felt Barcelona deserved the victory: “We did some things very well in attack, with intensity. It was not an easy match. We played at a very good level. Betis were very good too, but I think we deserved the victory.”

Flick praised Lamine’s opening goal as “incredible” and called him “the best player in the world right now”. He said he was proud of Lamine’s performance, while adding that he had not seen the incident that led to the red card. The manager also stressed the importance of the goal scored before half-time and praised the work on set pieces.

The delay in Seville has therefore disrupted Barcelona’s preparations for Tuesday’s Champions League match against PSG. Flick will now have to adjust the training plan around the team’s departure.