aAt the head of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, players and coaching staff prepare to qualify for the Grand Final and take home the trophy. Atltico Madrid will face FC Barcelona, but coach Diego Simeone is already planning a strategy to thwart his rivals, especially the players from Rose.
Cholo’s side had already taken an important step by winning the first leg 4-0 at the Estadio Metropolitano. Now they want to repeat their victory against Hansi Flick’s side on Tuesday, March 3rd at the Spotify Camp Nou, and they have a plan.
Simeone aims to stop Yamal
Goals from Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman, Flynn Lebarez and Eric Garcia give Atltico Madrid the advantage against Barcelona. In the pre-match press conference, the coach revealed that Barra will focus on attack and will mainly work on the defensive side, blocking players such as Pedri, Rafinha and Lamine Yamal.
“It goes without saying how important Pedri and Rafinha are for any team in the world. Tomorrow they will definitely be there and they will do well as usual, because they are both very good players,” Cholo said.
“Lamine Yamal is a very good individual player who can play especially in the last third of the match. We have to take advantage of the chances he gives us in attack and be able to attack in that area. And then we have to take him where he is most uncomfortable, which is in defence,” he added about the 18-year-old.
The truth is that the duo of Pedri and Yamal just wreaked havoc against Villarreal (4-1), and Lamine, with an assist from Gonzlez and two assists from Fermun Lupez, scored his first hat-trick and led Barcelona to another big victory.
It’s no wonder, then, that Simeone has turned his attention to these players, hoping to avoid any surprises. Because he knows that if he gives them freedom, he could force them into a defeat that would lead to them being eliminated from the Copa del Rey.
So Diego’s idea is to use Nichols Gonzlez as a reinforcement on the left side. According to Mundo Deportivo newspaper, in this way he will work together with Matteo Ruggieri and limit the Bara striker.
Meanwhile, Rose have suffered a significant loss in Robert Lewandowski. The Polish star fractured the inside of his left eye socket against Villarreal and will miss the game against Atltico Madrid.
“We are imagining the match, as we always do against any opponent. From previous matches against opponents, we know their strengths and the options to play the match we need to play. Nothing else is important,” Simeone concluded.
