Barcelona interim president wary of Atletico Madrid ahead of showdown – ‘One of the best in Europe’ | OneFootball

FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid square off for the fourth time this season later tonight at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in a La Liga encounter.

This will be the first of three matches that the two teams will play against each other in the space of ten days.

Barcelona have beaten the Rojiblancos twice in their three meetings so far, losing the other one by a significant margin.

As such, the Catalan club’s interim president, Rafa Yuste, was wary about the quality that Diego Simeone’s side possess, hailing them as one of the best teams in the continent.

“Atletico are one of the best teams in Europe, playing brilliant football with a spectacular attack. Flick says so, and he knows his football – they’ve got a really well-organised defence,” Yuste said, as quoted by SPORT.

“We’ll have to play very well and put in a performance like we did in the second leg of the Cup,” he added.

Yuste aware of the danger Atletico Madrid pose. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

Further speaking, Yuste emphasised the importance of the match and the demanding schedule ahead for Barcelona, saying:

“It’s a match in which we’re playing for three crucial points to stay at the top of the table, and we’ll see if we can maintain our lead, but above all, we’ve got two very important Champions League matches coming up.

“We were saying it on the plane with Hansi: it’s time to play this one and do our best to pick up three points.”

Regarding the absence of Raphinha, who misses out due to suspension, Yuste expressed confidence in the rest of the squad to step up.

“Raphinha is a significant loss, but I’m convinced that whoever comes in will perform just as well as Raphinha,” he stated.

Concluding, Yuste was asked about Barcelona’s interest in Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez, to which he declined to comment, responding only: “Good afternoon.”