Barcelona stranded in Seville: force majeure prevents Flick's side from leaving

Emergency crisis before the Paris clash

Barcelona have been forced into a significant rethink after a powerful storm hit the city in the early hours of this morning.

According to Spanish newspaper "AS", the squad had been due to leave two and a half hours after the final whistle against Real Betis. The private flight was cancelled because landing at El Prat airport proved impossible, with a thunderstorm battering the area at that time.

Forecasts offered no comfort either, with that wave of heavy, continuous rain expected to last almost all night.

Barcelona eventually chose to spend the night in Seville. That decision forces the club to move the training session pencilled in for eleven o'clock on Sunday morning at the sports city.

With the session falling the day after a match, the starters were only supposed to work in the gym, while the substitutes and those who did not feature faced a more intensive programme.

Nobody has set a new training time yet. It depends on when the squad lands in Barcelona.

The initial plan sends the players straight to the sports facilities once the plane touches down, for a light session before they head home.

Hansi Flick could do without it. The emergency leaves him barely a single day to prepare properly for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Originally the team were to train on Monday evening at the Parc des Princes, but the German may yet switch the session to the morning at the sports city and fly to Paris afterwards, weather permitting.

Flick is also waiting to learn how serious Eric Garcia's injury is, with the player having been due to undergo an MRI scan this morning.

Someone still has to fix a time for the tests and reveal the severity of the injury he sustained to the quadriceps of his right thigh.

Jules Kounde and Gerard Martin, by contrast, both picked up injuries during the match that look far less worrying.