Joao Cancelo demands Barcelona reaction after PSG and Real Madrid defeats

Cancelo calls for response after setbacks

Joao Cancelo says Barcelona must analyse their mistakes against Real Madrid and react when they return to action next weekend against Alaves.

The defender admits his team were lacking against Los Blancos. Hansi Flick’s side have seen their perfect start to the season ended by defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, with Cancelo saying the players must now respond to the two setbacks.

“There’s not much to say. We were the better team from my point of view, but this is Real Madrid. They create few chances and they score. But, overall, we were the better team,” he said.

“We have to react. We have the match against Alavés next week. We’re going to analyze the mistakes we made and recover for the next game.

“There are many times when we want to press high up the pitch, and other times we need to control the game more with the ball, which is where we excel. We need to have more possession, circulate the ball, and create chances. We lacked that, even though we had more chances than Real Madrid.

“Now, it’s time to work. The lads are fired up to respond against Alavés and that’s what we’ll do.”

Upcoming schedule

Flick is set to give his players two days off to rest and disconnect before returning to training on Wednesday ahead of some key games. First up it’s Alaves in La Liga, followed by a visit from in-form Aston Villa in the Champions League and then a trip to Atletico Madrid.