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• Flick wants to see clinical finishing from Barcelona

  Barcelona must rediscover their golden touch in front of goal if they are to push on and win LaLiga, says Hansi Flick.

  The Blaugrana are winless in three league matches and have seen their lead at the top of the standings cut to just one point.

  Defeats against Real Sociedad and Las Palmas cut Barcelona's have come either side of a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo, in which they gave up a 2-0 lead.

  With second-placed Real Madrid just a point behind and with a game in hand, Flick knows Barca cannot afford any slip-ups against Mallorca on Tuesday.

  And Flick put Barca's recent run down to wasting chances.

  "For me, the good news is that November is over and we are in December," Flick told reporters.

  "The team has given a lot in those games, in the midfield we have had a lot of intensity and we have been very disciplined. We created chances but we have to finish better.

  "It may seem like I'm making excuses, but we lost. We have to be focused in attack. We can't afford to have two or three chances and do not score them. In football it's the goals that count."

  Across their past three fixtures in LaLiga, Barca have scored just three goals, underperforming their 4.7 expected goals (xG).

  In that time, only Real Valladolid (4.76%) and Rayo Vallecano (6.25%) have a lower shot conversion rate than Barca (6.38%).

  Flick says his team just need to show more focus on the details.

  "We are a young team that have to learn and fight for victories," Flick said.

  "At the back, we need to stop conceding goals and for that we have to defend as a unit. In attack, we also have to be united. We have to score with the chances we get.

  "We had long possessions and a lot of chances, but in the end it's a fight to win the duels. When I see (Pau) Cubarsi or Inigo Martinez and how well they defend.

  "Pedri runs a lot in midfield... so do the others. There is a long way to go, we want to win the league title and for that everyone has to fight." 

• Alonso: DFB-Pokal tie with Bayern 'almost a final' for Leverkusen

  Xabi Alonso is viewing Bayer Leverkusen's DFB-Pokal clash with Bayern Munich as "a final".

  Holders Leverkusen, who also won the Bundesliga last season, visit Bayern in the last 16 on Tuesday.

  Leverkusen have been unable to sustain the immaculate form they showed domestically last term, though they have only lost one league match.

  They sit seven points behind leaders Bayern, who drew 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, with Jamal Musiala scoring a late equaliser.

  "The cup is one game and anything can happen," Alonso said on Monday.

  "Tomorrow is like a final for us. There is no tougher game than a game at the Allianz Arena.

  "Normally if Bayern play at the Allianz Arena in the Bundesliga, the Champions League or the DFB-Pokal they are always the favourites.

  "It is the biggest challenge. Almost a final."

  Leverkusen will be without key striker Victor Boniface just as Bayern are missing top scorer Harry Kane.

  But Alonso said he was happy to have forward Patrik Schick firing on all cylinders, with the Czech having netted the winner versus Union Berlin on Saturday after his hat-trick against Heidenheim a week earlier.

  Schick had also scored in Leverkusen's midweek 5-0 demolition of Salzburg in the Champions League.

  "Patrik is in a top moment," Alonso said.

  "He not only scores, but does a lot of other things right, also against Union Berlin in an intense game against a tough defence. I am happy he is having this good feeling."

• Rooney left 'embarrassed' by heavy Plymouth defeats

  Wayne Rooney has been left "embarrassed" by Plymouth Argyle's recent performances on the back of conceding 10 goals in the space of two games.

  Plymouth are winless in four Championship matches, with that run having seen them drop to just one place above the relegation zone.

  Their goal difference has taken a huge hit in the past week, however, following a 6-1 loss to Norwich City and a 4-0 defeat to Bristol City.

  Rooney, who was appointed as head coach in May, is reportedly under pressure, and Manchester United's record goalscorer knows matters must improve swiftly.

  "I've been criticised since I was a 16-year-old boy, my whole career," Rooney said, as reported by BBC Sport.

  "What you always want is weapons to fight back with – at the minute we've got none.

  "So we have to take it on the chin and hope that we get through this, because the last two games arguably have been the toughest and hardest week of my managerial career.

  "So I need to find a way to get through it, but also get that message through to the players to make sure I lift them.

  "It's at a point now where the players need to understand that they need to give more and they need to show more character, more fight, more desire.

  "It was very difficult walking over [to the fans] and not feel embarrassed."

   

  Plymouth have the lowest expected goals (xG) in the Championship this season, having accumulated only 12.7. However, they have netted 18 times.

  It is a bad mix for Rooney, though, as Argyle have the highest xG against, with their 35.8 xGA five clear of next-worst Stoke City (30.8), while Plymouth have also conceded the most goals (38) and shots (324, 40 more than any other side).

  "Ultimately it's my responsibility – I take full responsibility for the results, I pick the team, I pick the tactics," Rooney added.

  "But I think the players are at a stage now where they need to hear, not just in the dressing room, but they need to hear it from outside as well, that they have to show more.

  "We've got a duty to this football club to show a pride, a respect, a passion, a fight for this club and the last two games I feel it hasn't been there."