MADRID (AP) — Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has a “anything goes” mentality heading into the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal against Atlético Madrid.
Barcelona will need to turn things around when they host Atlético on Tuesday. First leg lost 4-0 Last month in Madrid.
“We’re four goals behind, so we have to do the impossible,” Flick said on Monday. “That is the goal. It will not be easy, but we will not give up.
“It is important to keep clean sheets, but we have to believe in our strength and that we can achieve it… we must always believe. We need to score two goals in each half.”
Barcelona were badly defeated by Atletico in the first half of the first leg and could have conceded even more than the four goals they conceded by half-time.
They were able to catch up with the score a little after the break, but were unable to score. He loudly complained that Pau Kvarsi’s goal was canceled early in the second half. The Spanish Football Federation later announced that automatic technology to detect offsides was not working properly.
“We have to be smart,” Frick said. “We have to press them, win duels and make things difficult for them. We can’t lose the ball because they are very dangerous in transition. We have to play as one.”
Coach Flick will be without experienced forward Robert Lewandowski due to injury. Frenkie de Jong and Gabi also remain absent, while defender Eric Garcia will not play after being sent off in the first leg.
“We’re going to have to manage Levy’s absence,” Flick said. “We haven’t had much luck. It’s a problem to lose a player like him and a player who can’t play, but the team is coping well.”
Barcelona beat Villarreal 4-1 in the Spanish league, with Lamine Yamal scoring a hat-trick.
The Catalan club is the defending Copa champion. They defeated Real Madrid in last year’s final, winning their 32nd trophy, the most in history.
Atlético, who have won three consecutive games in all competitions, are aiming to return to the Copa final for the first time since lifting their 10th trophy in the 2012-13 season.
Atlético coach Diego Simeone said: “We are focused on the next game. The opponent is a very good attacking opponent with great individual players, and in the team game we will be one of the most competitive teams in La Liga and in Europe.”
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
