Barcelona’s coach, Hansi Flick, emphasizes that his squad will require more than just Lamine Yamal to achieve the “impossible” in their Copa del Rey semifinal against Atlético Madrid this Tuesday. After a devastating 4-0 loss in the first leg in Madrid, Barça faces a significant challenge as they return to Spotify Camp Nou for the second leg.
Despite the daunting task, the players are boosted by the support of their home fans and Yamal’s recent hat trick in a match against Villarreal, which has revitalized their hopes. Flick stated in a press conference that the entire team needs to step up, not just Yamal, to execute this comeback.
“The focus is on the team,” Flick noted when asked about Yamal’s performance. “His play after scoring his first goal on Saturday was impressive, but we need everyone to contribute on the field. We are currently down by four goals. Our aim is to make the impossible possible tomorrow. We are aware of the challenges but we refuse to give up.”
“It’s crucial to keep a clean sheet, but we must also trust in our capabilities and believe we can achieve this,” he added. Flick is venturing into unfamiliar territory as he admits he has never faced such a deficit in his managerial career during a knockout tie.
He references Barça’s 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund last season as a source of inspiration for this comeback. “I haven’t encountered this situation before, but I’m not afraid,” he remarked. “You always have to believe. With the fans backing us, we can draw from past experiences, like the match against Dortmund last season, where we turned it around with a 4-0 victory.”
“Our goal is to score at least two goals every half. While it won’t be easy, we’re facing a formidable opponent who caused us a lot of trouble in the last match.”
Barcelona will be without Robert Lewandowski, who fractured his eye socket in the match against Villarreal. He joins the injured list which includes Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, and Andreas Christensen, while Eric García is suspended.
However, Barça has seen reinforcements recently with the returns of Pedri and Raphinha from injury, which Flick believes has significantly boosted the team’s performance.
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“Having [Pedri] back is beneficial; we’ll monitor how many minutes he can contribute,” Flick added. “In our recent match against Villarreal, we saw a completely different team: everyone was fighting with high intensity. We need to replicate that tomorrow—play smart and as a cohesive unit while maintaining the determination to succeed.”