Barcelona head into Tuesday’s Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid carrying wounds — but also belief.
Trailing 4-0 from the first leg, Hansi Flick’s side face a monumental task at home. Yet the German coach insisted on Monday that his players are not ready to surrender their title without a fight.
“We are four goals behind and we have to make the impossible possible. That is the objective,” Flick told reporters. “It’s not easy. However, we will not give up.”
Atletico stunned Barcelona last month with a devastating first-half display, scoring four times to hand the Catalans their first domestic blank of the season. The result left Diego Simeone’s men on the brink of their first Copa del Rey final since 2012-13.
But despite the commanding advantage, Simeone refused to treat the tie as settled.
“We’re thinking about the match ahead of us, against a very good opponent,” the Atletico manager said. “They are attacking, open and play as a team, making them one of the most competitive sides in LaLiga and in Europe.”
Barcelona’s recent form offers Flick reason for optimism. The league leaders have scored seven goals in their last two matches, including a Lamine Yamal hat-trick in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Villarreal. With 71 league goals this season, Barca remain the most potent attacking side in Spain.
Yet their comeback hopes have been complicated by injury. Striker Robert Lewandowski fractured his eye socket against Villarreal and will miss the decisive second leg.
“We will have to manage Lewy’s absence,” Flick said. “We have not had much luck. Losing a player like him, and the others who cannot be there, is a problem, but the team handles it well.”
Flick outlined the blueprint for what would be one of the club’s most dramatic turnarounds.
“It is important to keep a clean sheet, but we must believe in our strength and that we can achieve it,” he said. “For example, in each half we need to score two goals.”
Containing Yamal will be central to Atletico’s defensive plan. The teenager’s late-game explosiveness has troubled opponents all season.
“He is a very good individual player, particularly dangerous in the final stages of the game,” Simeone said. “We have to put him where he feels most uncomfortable, which is defending.”
Atletico, currently third in LaLiga and 13 points behind Barcelona with 12 matches remaining, are also preparing for a Champions League round-of-16 clash against Tottenham Hotspur. Simeone said he relishes competing on multiple fronts.
“In summer, you always think, I wish we could compete for everything. Now we’re in a fantastic position, fighting for what we want,” he said.
For Barcelona, however, Tuesday represents more than another fixture. It is a test of character after humiliation.
“We must press them, win the duels and make things difficult for them,” Flick said. “We cannot lose possession, as they are very dangerous in transition. We have to play as one.”
Four goals down. Without their main striker. Against one of Europe’s most disciplined sides.
Barcelona know the scale of the challenge.
But as Flick made clear, belief — not comfort — will define their approach.
And at the Camp Nou, they will try to turn the impossible into something else entirely.
