Flick hails the end of Barcelona's negative run and stirs uncertainty over Rodri

The German coach is pleased with the clean sheet

Hansi Flick hailed his side's defensive display after Barcelona's 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday night in the Champions League, stressing that every player played their part in the clean sheet.

The Catalans cruised past the English side at the Camp Nou in the fourth round of the league phase.

"Yes, the win was important," Flick told Movistar, in comments reported by Spanish newspaper "AS" after the match. "We faced a big team that defended well. We are happy with our defensive performance, as everyone gave what they had in order to finish the match with a clean sheet."

On the team's work at the back, Flick added: "We have to keep working. Everyone put in an amazing performance, we were very solid and defended very well. It was great."

It was Barcelona's first clean sheet in the Champions League since April 2025, when they thrashed Borussia Dortmund 4-0. They had conceded in 18 games running since then, a record negative run.

Rodri's situation

The German also addressed the condition of Rodri, who felt muscular pain during the match and had to be withdrawn. "He felt some muscular discomfort, and we have to wait until tomorrow to know more," he explained.

That leaves a cloud of doubt over the Spanish midfielder ahead of Sunday's eagerly awaited La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid.

Looking to that meeting with Atletico, Flick noted his side have four days to recover and prepare. "We have 4 days to regain our readiness and play the match," he said.