Barcelona head coach said that the 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg loss at Atletico Madrid on Thursday (February 12) wasn’t his worst as the Blaugrana boss.
An Eric Garcia own goal in the seventh minute opened the floodgates for the Rojiblancos. Former Barca attacker Antoine Griezmann doubled their lead seven minutes later, followed by further strikes from Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez – all before the break.
Thanks for the submission!
Although the hosts didn’t score in the second half, Barca didn’t either, meaning Flick’s side now have a mountain to climb in the return leg at home next month. However, the German boss reckons the Atletico defeat wasn’t his worst at the club’s helm, pointing out the 7-6 aggregate defeat to Inter Milan in last season’s UEFA Champions League semi-finals instead (as per Barca Universal):
“No. Worst night was against Inter. Today, we still have options to come back. It is difficult, but we will try.”
The aforementioned tie with Inter saw Barca draw 3-3 away in the first leg and recover from a 2-0 deficit in the second to lead 3-2 with three minutes to go, only to concede a stoppage time equaliser, which sent the tie to extra time.
There, Inter scored again, in the 99th minute, to complete their comeback denying Flick’s side a shot at a historic quadruple.
“We are capable of coming back” – Barcelona boss Hansi Flick after Atletico defeat
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick hasn’t given up hope of salvaging the Copa del Rey semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid after a heavy 4-0 loss on the road in midweek.
The Blaugrana could draw confidence from their four-goal comeback in another competition – the UEFA Champions League. Almost a decade ago, Barca recovered from a 4-0 first-leg defeat at Paris Saint-Germain to win the return 6-1 on aggregate to register the competition’s first comeback from four goals down.
“We are capable of coming back,” Flick said about the Atletico tie (as per the club’s website). “We will fight, and for that reason we need our fans at Spotify Camp Nou,”
Admitting that his team weren’t at their best on the night, he added:
“We didn’t play well as a team in the first half. We didn’t press as we wanted, and I would have liked to have seen the hunger that Atletico showed. In the second half we were better.
“I am proud of my team. It’s clear I am not happy with the first 45 minutes, but I am proud of the season we are putting in. We will pick ourselves up and come back. We have a chance of turning it around. We can win each half 2-0.”
The second leg against Atletico is on March 3 at the Camp Nou as Barcelona attempt an unlikely comeback from four goals down.
Edited by Bhargav