Fuming Hansi Flick rages at Barcelona’s fixture schedule as LaLiga leaders are forced to play tonight – just two days after the international break

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was furious at LaLiga‘s fixture schedule ahead of his side’s game against Osasuna tonight, which comes just two days after the international break ended.

The fixture was initially scheduled to be played earlier this month, but was postponed following the death of Barcelona’s club doctor, Carles Minarro Garcia.

Barcelona come into the game leading LaLiga by virtue of a superior goal difference over rivals Real Madrid, with both teams sitting on 60 points.

However, the Catalan side have the chance to go three points clear at the top if they beat Osasuna tonight, extending their unbeaten run to 19 games in all competitions. 

After such a short turnaround following the international break, with the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification games ending early on Wednesday morning, Flick could not hide his anger at the fixture scheduling.

‘It’s not the best situation for them. The players have played with their national teams, and that’s bad,’ the Barca boss said.

Barcelona’s second-highest goalscorer, Raphinha, played every minute of Brazil’s 4-1 defeat by Argentina early on Wednesday morning, which ended 42 hours before tonight’s kick-off

Barcelona will go three points clear ahead of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga if they win tonight

‘Now we have to play against Osasuna, and we have to talk about whether it’s the right time. I’m not happy. There are other leagues that do it differently.’

Nevertheless, Flick insisted that no excuses will be made, and that his league-leading side are good enough to beat any team, even with minimal respite. 

He continued: ‘I can’t change that. That’s my personal opinion. But we’re going to play, we’re not making excuses. The team is ready and we have to strive for the best performance. We’re going for it.

‘The quality of the team is good and we can beat anyone, even if the players don’t get the optimal rest.’ 

Flick was particularly frustrated that two of his most important players – centre back Ronald Araujo and forward Raphinha – will be unavailable tonight.

The latter played all 90 minutes of Brazil’s 4-1 defeat by Argentina, which ended at around 2am (UK time) on Wednesday – 42 hours before Barcelona’s game against Osasuna kicks off. 

Meanwhile, Araujo was an unused substitute for Uruguay against Bolivia on Tuesday, but will still miss out with an injury.

Flick cited jet lag as part of the reason why both players will miss out, as they each had to endure trips longer than 12 hours to make it back to Barcelona from South America.

Despite his anger, Flick insisted his side are good enough to beat any team, even with little rest

Flick added: ‘They’re out. The flight is long and it’s not the most optimal situation. They have to recover and train, and then we’ll see on Sunday.’

After tonight’s game against Osasuna, Barcelona have another short rest until their next LaLiga game.

Flick’s side host Girona on Sunday, meaning they will only have Friday and Saturday to recover.

Barcelona play nine games in the next four weeks, meaning their players will not enjoy a week of rest until the end of April.