Barcelona need to learn from their La Liga defeat by Atletico Madrid this season and be more clinical in front of goal when they meet again in their Copa del Rey semi-final first leg, manager Hansi Flick said on yesterday.
Atletico claimed their first away win at Barca in 18 years with a 2-1 victory in December despite the hosts dominating the opening exchanges and scoring the first goal.
“This is a new game. We have to prove it,” Flick told reporters ahead of today’s home clash.
“Atletico are a great team, they have invested a lot of money. They have the best defenders and the best attackers. It’s going to be a tough game…
“The positive thing we learned from the defeat is that we can play good football. What we showed there was on the highest level. We had the possibility to score one or two more goals before they scored.
“We have to take advantage of the opportunity to score, the important thing is to score goals. And we have to keep in mind that it’s two games and not just one.”
Flick is hoping to have Lamine Yamal available after the 17-year-old winger missed training on Monday due to a knock he picked up in the 2-0 win at Las Palmas on Saturday.
Yamal, who bagged an assist, posted a picture of his bloody left foot on Instagram after the match.
“We will have to wait to see if he can play, I see the situation as positive from what the doctor has told us. And we want him to be with us,” Flick told reporters.
The German added that midfielder, Dani Olmo, could play 90 minutes after recovering from a calf injury suffered in January.
Olmo, who has seven goals and three assists in 22 appearances since joining Barca in the close season from RB Leipzig, scored off the bench in the win over Las Palmas.
“For me, the most important thing is that he can start from the beginning, we have to look after him and that’s what we’ve been doing,” Flick said.
“The goal he scored against Las Palmas was very important.” -Reuters
