Hansi Flick sent a strong message to his players after his team were defeated by AS Monaco in the Champions League for the first time this season.

An early red card for Eric Garcia left Barcelona with a mountain to climb but they came close to a point until Monaco took a 2-1 lead in the second half.

Flick admitted after the match that the red card was decisive for the outcome, but urged his players to bounce back from the setback.

“Yes, the game changed completely (after the red card). We always tried, we defended with passion. We made some mistakes but we tried to score. We had some chances but they deserved to win,” he told Movistar.

“We lost, okay, I told the players, but now we have to come back stronger, recover for the game on Sunday. We have to do our best and fight for the team. We lost this game, but we keep fighting.”

Barcelona won’t have to dwell on the result for long as they return to action this weekend against Villarreal. Flick’s side are still unbeaten in La Liga and the German will be looking to continue that run this weekend.