At a glance
- FC Barcelona will fight for their Champions League lift against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
- In the Metropolitano, they have to become only the second team since 2019 to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the knockout phase.
- Flick might take the whole squad to the Spanish capital to boost morale in the quarterfinal second leg.
FC Barcelona will fly to the Spanish capital at 10:30 AM local time on Monday morning, as confirmed by Mundo Deportivo.
The Catalans head off from El Prat Airport on Mission Not Impossible according to head coach Hansi Flick. On Saturday, he said his team don’t need a “miracle” in the Champions League quarterfinals.
What is true, however, is that Barca need to become just the second team since Marcus Rashford’s Manchester United in 2019 to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the Champions League knockout phase.
If they can do that, though, passage to the continental competition’s last four is granted. Once there, they’ll meet either Arsenal or Sporting CP.
Barca are thinking about taking the whole squad
Flick wants “maximum unity” for the operation. Because of this, he’s pondering taking the whole group to the Metropolitano to boost morale.
The German’s proposal hasn’t been confirmed by the club yet. Yet behind it is a desire to have a group mentality, when the team needs to be more united than ever.
Rather than stay behind in the Catalan capital then, some stars such as Raphinha and Pau Cubarsi can make the trip.
While Raphinha is injured with a thigh knock, Cubarsi received a red card in the first leg at the Spotify Camp Nou.
Flick and Barca have a very special guest talking to the press
Barca will arrive in Madrid at noon and are scheduled to train at 18:00 local time. Before that, at 17:15, Lamine Yamal will accompany his manager to hold a pre-match press conference.
The media is likely to hang on the teenager’s every word and he’ll have to be careful what he says.
On Saturday, though, Lamine put in a world class performance against Espanyol. He set up both of Ferran Torres’ goals and then scoring one himself into an empty net.
Confidence is high in Can Barca, with Torres promising “we can and we will” as per the Atleti remontada. Lamine and Flick have already pulled two of them off in the Metropolitano in the past year, with the most recent 10 days ago.
If it’s any team that can do it, it’s this one as Ronald Araujo quipped. And travelling together as a group, irrespective of who can play or not, is a smart way of reinforcing the message that everyone is in this together.
