Eric García returned to Barcelona’s starting eleven for the first time since his Champions League suspension, helping the club secure a 4-2 victory over Levante on Sunday. The Spanish defender, playing in a face mask following a collision with Rodri, emerged from the match with a stark message: lapses in concentration had nearly derailed what should have been a comfortable afternoon at Mestalla.
García’s warning after late Levante surge
Barça dominated for large stretches, but two goals deep into the second half transformed the contest into an unexpectedly fraught finish. García acknowledged the environmental factors—heat, timing of the fixture, and the pitch condition—but pinpointed his team’s own failings as the primary culprit.
“I think we made the match harder on ourselves than it needed to be,” García told reporters after the match, as reported by Mundo Deportivo. “If you give any opponent a bit of breathing space, they’ll come right at you.”
Two specific defensive sequences illustrated the problem. Xavi Espart’s mistake prompted manager Hansi Flick to later acknowledge he should have withdrawn the midfielder sooner. A second lapse saw Pau Cubarsi and Marc Bernal fail to deal decisively with Levante’s pressing, allowing the hosts a clear opportunity to reduce the deficit. These were not inevitable errors, García insisted, but rather lapses the squad knew could be eliminated through better positioning and decision-making.
Backing Espart despite the costly error
The night carried redemptive elements for Espart, who netted his first goal for Barcelona’s senior team. García chose to frame the midfielder’s performance within the broader confidence Flick has demonstrated in him. “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,” the defender said. Espart’s individual contribution mattered more than his subsequent mistake, García suggested, particularly given the competitive depth Barcelona now possesses across every position.
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Where Barcelona’s cutting edge resides
García reserved particular praise for Barcelona’s attacking contingent, highlighting the qualitative gap between their deep-lying playmakers and the forwards tasked with finishing chances. The club’s defenders and midfielders can circulate possession effectively, he explained, but the decisive moments belong to the attacking players.
“Up front, we have animals, beasts, who can cause a lot of damage when they get into space,” García concluded. The assessment reflected Barcelona’s tactical identity under Flick: controlled possession through the thirds, with intensity and precision concentrated in the final third where specialists operate.
