Olympiacos coach hails Barcelona midfielder ahead of UCL clash – “Makes you forget Xavi, Iniesta” | OneFootball

Olympiacos coach Jose Luis Mendilibar is no stranger to facing Barcelona, having registered a woeful record against the Catalan side during the course of his coaching career.

But he will be looking to move past that record when Olympiacos take on a struggling Barcelona team in the Champions League this midweek.

Speaking ahead of the game, Mendilibar talked about Barça’s gameplay as well as certain individuals such as Pedri and Lamine Yamal.

What Mendilibar said ahead of Barcelona clash

The Olympiacos coach said he won’t change his team’s style of play against Barcelona, noting that even the Catalans haven’t changed their game much either.

“I’m not going to change the way we play. If I change anything, it’s because Barça corners you and you can’t get out, not because I’m going to approach it that way. It’s our way of playing and that’s how we’re going to play,” he said (h/t Mundo Deportivo).

“Barcelona hasn’t changed the way they play either. Having to substitute players and not being able to repeat lineups at a given moment can mean you lose the mechanisms or automatisms you have,” he added.

Mendilibar went on to talk about Lamine Yamal, heaping praise on the young Barcelona winger for his maturity.

“He’s a kid, he’s been in top competition for two years. What the other player (Leo) did is almost impossible to repeat, but this one makes the difference. If Lamine isn’t in good shape, Barça isn’t in good shape. We’ll try to defend him well,” he said.

The Olympiacos coach also talked about other good players in the team, including Ronald Araujo, who scored a late winner against Girona at the weekend.

“Barcelona have many other great players. The other day, Araujo came on and scored the goal. You have to be perfect to win,” he added.

Jose Luis Mendilibar rates Pedri quite highly. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

However, the highlight of the interview when Mendilibar talked about Pedri, stating that the young midfielder makes him forget about Barcelona legends such as Xavi and Iniesta.

“Pedri is so good that you Culés are almost forgetting about Xavi and Iniesta. He’s the one who controls the best, the one who makes the best passes. Everything,” he said.

“It’s that if Pedri doesn’t touch it, but Frenkie has it. Or if Pedri doesn’t touch it, but Rashford picks it up. It’s that they’re all very good,” he added.

The Olympiacos coach also talked about Hansi Flick, who was sent off against Girona for protesting against the referee and will not be available on the touchline against Real Madrid.

“I’ve been calmer lately, but I’ve been sent off, too. It depends on a lot of things: whether you get sent off or not, what you say, how you say it, how the referee interprets it… I’m convinced he won’t get sent off tomorrow,” he said.

Finally, Mendilibar shared his top favourites for the Champions League title this year.

“Barcelona are a favourite. Bayern Munich , and the English clubs as well,” he concluded.