Flick Calls For FC Barcelona-Espanyol Match To Be Suspended

FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick voiced a preference for suspending his team's match against Espanyol this weekend in reaction to a flood tragedy in Valencia which has claimed over 200 lives.

Matches in the affected region, including Real Madrid's away trip to the Mestalla to take on Valencia, have been postponed.

Yet there has been criticism in some corners for La Liga matches around the country not following suit and being put on pause as the death toll rises.

Asked about whether his team's derby meeting with Espanyol should be put back during a press conference, Flick first revealed: "We have Ferran [Torres], who is from the area and we have spoken."

"It isn't easy to make a decision about what to do. It already happened three years ago in Germany. We support all those affected but it is a matter of La Liga [to decide],".

At another point of his sitdown with the media, however, Flick was firmer when saying: "If I could make the decision, maybe I would do it because it is a tragedy for Valencia and for Spain as a whole," with regards to postponing matches across the country.

Though his men currently six points clear at the La Liga summit over Madrid, Flick refuses to accept that Barca is the favourite to snatch the top domestic prize back from Los Blancos.

"There is a long way to go. It is a very long road, I have said it before," Flick remarked.

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"The road to the La Liga title is very long and things can happen. We are in good dynamics, a good mood and it is the plan we have. In today's training the team showed its quality and if we play the way we have trained, the fans will be very happy," he promised.

Despite it being his first crosstown affair, Flick said that he knows "what a Barça-Espanyol derby entails".

"It will be a tough game, for sure. After a fantastic week, it's important tomorrow to be one hundred percent, with intensity and maximum quality," he insisted.

If Barca cant repeat the kind of performance that saw it win 4-1 against Bayern Munich and 0-4 versus Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in El Clasico which were its last two outings, it should be able to take all three points in Montjuic.