Flick explains Barcelona's defensive brilliance against Aston Villa, and reveals the behind-the-scenes of Raphinha's substitution

The German coach explains Barça's philosophy

Hansi Flick walked away a happy man on Tuesday night. Barcelona's German coach saw his side beat Aston Villa 3-0 at the Camp Nou in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League league phase, and the performance left him purring.

Flick said in the post-match press conference: "Aston Villa are a great team. We defended well and we are happy with our defensive performance. We kept a clean sheet and the defensive line played at an amazing level. They defended everything. And so did Joan Garcia."

As reported by the newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", he added: "It is not about making mistakes or losing, but about how you react. The next step is always the most important."

"We have to keep working," he continued. "Everyone's performance was great. The space between the lines was tight, we were compact, and we defended well close to our goal. It was amazing."

The gameplan was simple. Flick explained: "We wanted to press them, to force them into making mistakes, and that is where the goals came from. This is our way of playing, this is our philosophy. The win was important. You can see that we have confidence whether we have the ball or not."

Frenkie de Jong's return gave the German another reason to smile. "His return is very important," Flick said. "He is performing well, and you can see that in training. His physical fitness has not yet reached its full capacity, and that is normal. We have to handle the matter gradually. We want to have many talents in every position, and with him we have them in two positions."

Raphinha offered a worry of a different kind. The Brazil winger showed signs of pain when he was substituted, but Flick insisted the change had nothing to do with it.

"Raphinha was affected by what happened in Tenerife (the death of striker Jesus de Miguel), as were we all," he added. "We offer our deepest condolences to his family, the club and the fans in this tragedy. I believe this affected Raphinha personally."

"Everyone thinks I was angry with him and that is why I decided to substitute him, but that is not the case," he continued. "What I mean and what I feel is that it is not always easy to put everything aside and stick to the plan. We are human, and such things affect us."

On the Brazilian's form, he pointed out that Raphinha is "going through a good period in terms of level".

He signed off by saying: "If he comes back from the break in good health, that will be great for us and for him too. I am very happy for him and I wish him the best, and it will be a great thing for us as well."