Hansi Flick proud of Barcelona players after heartbreaking Champions League exit

Hansi Flick proud of Barcelona players after heartbreaking Champions League exit

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick insists he is proud of his players and their performance despite a heartbreaking defeat in the Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan.

The Spanish club fell to a 4-3 loss at the San Siro in a match that ebbed and flowed on Tuesday with the Italians eventually securing a 7-6 aggregate success across the two legs.

Flick admits he was disappointed with the result but credited his opponents for the display in front of their home fans.

The Barca mentor said after the game: "I'm disappointed but not with the players and their performance. They tried everything and that's just the way it is.

"We are out but next year we will try again and try to make the whole club and the fans happy. Inter also play and are a great team. They defend very well and have good strikers.

"We will learn. It's a progression. We want to keep learning. We don't have much time to train. Next season we will be back."

Flick admitted that he has some frustrations with some decisions made by referee Szymon Marciniak, but he chose not to delve too much into the matter.

He added: "Some decisions were 50-50 and they have always gone to Inter. That's football. We have to accept it. I'm very proud of my team.

"Sometimes you think that some of the referee's decisions are unfair. But we have to accept it and start again next season. Winning the Champions League is one of our objectives and making our fans happy. They have supported us very well. We will be back next season.

"I think about it, about the refereeing decisions but I don't want to talk about it. It's not fair to my team, who did a huge job. I don't like to talk about the referee. I've told him what I think but I'm not going to say it here."

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