Confident Simeone backs strong Atlético against Barcelona in the semi-final | OneFootball

This Wednesday, Diego Simeone, the coach of Atlético de Madrid, spoke to the press about the expectations for the next match. The Madrid club faces Barcelona in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey this Thursday, starting at 5 PM (Brasília time).

Barcelona is the leader of the Spanish Championship and comes from a streak of six consecutive victories this season. However, Simeone showed great confidence for the match.

“I have faith in everything I do and in everything I create. It's a characteristic that I think we have managed to convey. This is the third semi-final we will play. There is no other way to reach the final,” he stated.

Important Absences in the Opponent

The Catalan club comes to the match with three major absences, Rashford has joined Raphinha and Pedri on the injured list. The Argentine coach emphasized that he is not thinking about the other team and remains focused on his team's planning.

“I'm not thinking about them; I need to focus on what we are going to do,” he observed.

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Simeone Praises Hansi Flick

When asked about the opposing coach, Hansi Flick, Diego praised the rival's tactics and warned about the many ways Barcelona can challenge Atlético in the match.

“I value Flick for maintaining that suffocating pressure, his high defensive line, and for convincing his players to play with such risk,” he said.

“You can't take the ball from them all the time. Because they press a lot in our field. We need to find that path and hope we can execute our game, taking the match where we want,” he added.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.