Barcelona playmaker ready for Atletico Madrid in Champions League – ‘We remember what happened in the cup’ | OneFootball

FC Barcelona prepared for their final game before the international break as they take on Rayo Vallecano on Sunday in La Liga.

Following the training session, Barça playmaker Dani Olmo interacted with the club media, answering questions from fans during the interview.

Dani Olmo on facing Atletico Madrid

Naturally, one of the areas of focus was the upcoming UEFA Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals.

After all, not very long ago, Barça were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by the same opposition at the semi-final stages. A 4-0 first-leg defeat condemned the Blaugrana as they could only muster up a 3-0 win in the second leg, getting eliminated on aggregate.

But, Olmo expressed confidence that the team have what it takes to get past Diego Simeone’s men in the UCL quarter-finals.

“It’s a scenario we expected, but it’s a situation I’ve already experienced, both last year and at my previous clubs. It’s all or nothing,” he said.

“We have the quality, and we can do it if we’re at our best. We’re motivated, we remember what happened in the Cup, and we can’t afford to fail,” he added.

Confident ahead of Atletico Madrid challenge. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Locker room stories

Olmo also had words of praise for Barcelona teammate Gavi, who recently made his comeback from a long-term absence due to a knee injury.

“He’s a warrior, a Barça fan, and a player with a lot of energy,” he said.

Talking about his closest friends in the Barcelona locker room, the Spanish international remarked:

“I have quite a few. Eric and I do things in the summer, Ferran, Pedri, Joan… we also have a group with Iñigo, which is called the quintet. We used to play dominoes.”

On being asked to name the funniest teammate at Barcelona, Olmo had no hesitation in choosing Gavi, as he stated:

“Gavi. He’s very funny, especially during training. When he loses, he gets very angry. He doesn’t like to lose, not even at ping pong.”

When asked to name what would be a dream goal for him to score, Olmo replied: “Against Real Madrid.”

And, on being probed about the stadium he would like to play in, he said: “I’ve already played a Champions League qualifier in Budapest and we want to be there again.”

Source: MARCA