Barcelona believe a comeback against Atletico Madrid is possible if key duo start | OneFootball

FC Barcelona fell to a 0-2 defeat in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.

It leaves their hopes of progressing further in the competition hanging by a thread, with the reverse fixture set to be played at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano next week.

The chances of a remontada are further complicated by the absence of one of the club captains and Hansi Flick’s most trusted players, Raphinha.

Frenkie de Jong and Pedri the key

Given the situation, Mundo Deportivo reports that within the club, there is a belief that, with Raphinha sidelined through injury, keeping hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive depends on Pedri and Frenkie de Jong.

Barcelona are set to have their preferred double pivot available again this weekend. Whether they will play together for long remains uncertain, but the objective is for Pedri and De Jong to start as a pair on Tuesday in the second leg of the quarter-final.

Pedri is not injured and will be key vs Atletico. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Within Barcelona, elimination is far from being accepted, but it is understood that, with a key player like Raphinha absent, the chances of a comeback rely heavily on the midfield duo dictating play and adding attacking sharpness through ball control.

For now, De Jong, having recovered from a hamstring injury, completed part of Thursday’s training session with the group and is expected to take part again in Friday’s final session before Saturday’s match against RCD Espanyol.

The plan is for him to feature in the second half to regain match fitness and then be ready to start against Atletico Madrid.

Pedri, who was substituted at half-time against Atletico due to minor discomfort, carried out recovery work in today’s session. It is expected that the midfielder will not start against Espanyol in order to be fresher for the decisive match in Madrid.

Barcelona firmly believe that Pedri and De Jong being able to impose their style and control the match against Atletico Madrid will be critical to their chances of a comeback.