Eric Garcia returned to Barcelona’s starting lineup and, following a 4-2 victory over Levante, highlighted the team’s tendency to make matches unnecessarily difficult by committing late defensive errors. He emphasized the importance of not giving opponents opportunities to regain momentum.
Barcelona secured the win, but two late goals from Levante created an unexpectedly tense finish. Garcia acknowledged the challenging conditions, the time of day, heat, and pitch, but asserted that Barcelona contributed to their own difficulties. “I think we made the match harder on ourselves than it needed to be,” he stated. He specifically pointed to defensive mistakes, noting that allowing opponents even a small amount of space can be detrimental. “If you give any opponent a bit of breathing space, they'll come right at you,” he said, as per Mundo Deportivo.
Garcia identified incidents involving Xavi Espart and Pau Cubarsi and Marc Bernal as examples of avoidable errors. While acknowledging the mistakes, he also praised the confidence manager Hansi Flick is showing in Espart, who scored his first goal for Barcelona’s first team. “The manager is showing that he has complete confidence in him and he's responding. He’s playing very well and we have to be very pleased,” Garcia said. He added that the team’s competitive environment ensures no player can become complacent.
Garcia also highlighted Barcelona’s strengths, particularly their ability to progress possession from deep and the attacking prowess of their forwards. “We feel comfortable on the ball; we have midfielders and defenders who can play the ball very well. Up front, we have animals, beasts, who can cause a lot of damage when they get into space,” he concluded.
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