Simeone outlines plan to stop Barcelona’s biggest weapon in Copa semifinal – ‘Have to force him…’ | OneFootball

FC Barcelona face off against Atletico Madrid tomorrow night at the Spotify Camp Nou in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal tie.

Having lost the first leg 4-0 at the Civitas Metropolitano, the Blaugrana face a huge task of overturning that deficit to make it to the final of the competition they won last season.

Lamine Yamal, who scored a hat-trick at the weekend against Villarreal, will undoubtedly hold the key for Hansi Flick’s team.

However, Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has devised a plan to try and thwart Lamine from doing damage to his team.

Simeone’s strategy

Speaking to the media ahead of the match, Simeone acknowledged the quality of the 18-year-old prodigy and the threat he creates.

“He’s a very good player individually, a game-changer, especially in the final third,” the Atletico Madrid boss remarked.

Barcelona’s biggest weapon. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

It must be noted that during the first leg in February, Simeone tried to distract Lamine by making provocative comments at him from the touchline.

Now, outlining the plan to try and stop Lamine, El Cholo suggested that Atletico would try and attack more on his flank, in order to force the Barcelona wonderkid back and defend.

“We’ll have to take advantage of all the opportunities he gives us in attack, to attack down that side. We also have to force him into the position where he feels most uncomfortable, which is defending,” the Argentine coach added.

At the same time, Simeone also admitted that the presence of Raphinha and Pedri, who missed the first leg at the Civitas Metropolitano, will be a huge boost for Barcelona.

“It goes without saying how important they are to any team in the world; they’ll be there tomorrow,” stated Simeone.