Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Barcelona had learned lessons from Atletico Madrid, who lost 4-0 at the Metropolitano in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final on Thursday.
All four goals came in the first half, with Eric García taking the lead through an own goal, and goals from Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julián Álvarez sealing Atlético’s victory.
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The return match will take place on March 3rd at Spotify Camp Nou, with the winner facing either Real Sociedad or Athletic Club in the final.
Coach Flick said at the post-match press conference, “In the first half, we didn’t play very well as a team.” “There was too much distance between everyone. We couldn’t press as well as we wanted.
“Over the first 45 minutes, we learned our lesson. Sometimes good things happen at the right time. Maybe today was the right moment.”
“I’m still proud of my team, not just today for the first 45 minutes, but for the entire season. If you look at how many injuries we have throughout the season and how we adapt…Today was a big loss, but I’m proud of my team.”
“We will definitely come back. We need to start from the beginning (of the game). If you look at the Atlético players, they had more will, they had a hungrier spirit. And this is what I want from the first moment. We didn’t show it in the first half.”
“We have a second leg and we will fight for it. If we can win both halves 2-0, that is our goal. We need fans at Camp Nou and we will see what happens.”
The tone of the first half was set when Garcia’s backpass swung under the feet of goalkeeper Joao Garcia, paving the way for Atlético’s onslaught.
Griezmann made a good move as a team in the 14th minute, Lookmann scored his second goal for his new club in the 30th minute and Alvarez ended an 11-game drought with Atletico’s fourth goal in first-half stoppage time.
Barça improved after the break and looked like they might have scored in the 51st minute, but Pau Kvarsi’s shot was ruled out for offside after a review that took more than six minutes.
Furious at the decision, Flick did not hold back when asked for his opinion on the referee, accusing him of being too lenient with Atlético’s early challenge and irresponsible with the goal that was ruled out.
“What should I say?” Flick said annoyed. “We start with a yellow card. Usually the first action, a foul on (Alejandro) Balde, it’s a yellow card, (for sure).”
“And everything could be different. But he invited them to play like this. So it’s completely different.
“(As for the canceled goal) Well, to me it’s a mess. They have to wait seven minutes, oh come on. Are they going to find something in those seven minutes? OK.
“If you look at the situation, it was clearly not offside. Maybe they saw something different. Then tell us, it’s not communication. It’s very bad here.”
Barça’s misery worsened in the closing stages when Garcia was sent off for a last-man challenge with Alex Baena, leaving the visitors with 10 men for the remaining five minutes and 10 minutes of stoppage time.
Both teams will then return to La Liga action, with league leaders Barça traveling to Girona on Monday, while Atlético travel away to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
