Hansi Flick says that the team are focused after the loss of their doctor and want to win to for him

Hansi Flick has been the only spokeperson from FC Barcelona on Monday's press conference before Tuesday's Champions League game against Benfica, a round of 16 second leg match to be played in Barcelona. It has been an exceptional press conference for various reasons: first, it opened with a minute's silence in honour of Carles Miñarro Garcia, Barça's first team doctor, who died unexpectedly on Saturday.

The second reason was that, as an exception, only Flick was present in the press conference. UEFA's rules say that both the coach and a player are required to do a press conference the day before each match, but Barça asked UEFA to avoid the presence of a player, as the whole squad is deeply affected by the doctor's death. Miñarro García was the main doctor for the first team, so he had constant dealings with all players. He was only 54 when he died in the hotel where the team was gathered before Saturday's Liga match against Osasuna, which was postponed.

"Carles was a great person, but also a great doctor. The combination was incredible for the club and for the team. He was a very important part of our success. We will miss him, but I am sure he will be helping us from up there. Now we want to win for him", Flick said in the press conference, and assured that "the team is highly focused and getting over the situation. The best way to do that is by winning", aware that "this is a very important moment for the club and the fans".

The match will be played at 17:45 GMT (18:45 CET) on Tuesday, and Barcelona carries a one goal edge from last week's game, where Barcelona won in Lisbon despite playing with ten players, thanks to a spectacular performance by goalkeeper Szczęsny and a goal by Raphinha, whom Flick sees as a potential candidate for Ballon d'Or. Flick also confirmed that Robert Lewandowski feels good and will play the match, after being absent from last weekend's call (even if the match was postponed).