Barcelona coach Hansi Flick says his team will need more than just Lamine Yamal to make the “impossible possible” in Tuesday’s Copa del Rey semifinal against Atlético Madrid.
Barça were hammered 4-0 in the first leg of the tie in Madrid last month, leaving them with a mountain to climb when the two teams reconvene at Spotify Camp Nou this week for the return game.
However, with the home crowd behind them and Yamal fresh from scoring his first career hattrick at the weekend against Villarreal, Flick says Barça believe they can do it.
“The team is the focus,” Flick said in a news conference when asked if Yamal would have to be at his best for Barça to pull off an improbable turnaround.
“How he played after [his first goal on Saturday] was great to see, I am very happy about that, but we need everyone. It’s not only Lamine, we need everyone on the pitch.
“We are four goals behind. We want to make the impossible possible. This is the goal tomorrow. We know it won’t be easy, but we never give up.
“A clean sheet is important, but also to believe in our strength, to believe that we can do it.”
It is unknown territory for Flick, who says he has never been so far behind in his managerial career going into the second leg of a cup tie.
He is using Barça’s 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund last season — which was a first leg game in the Champions League — as a blueprint ahead of the comeback attempt.
“I was not in this situation before, but I am not scared about this,” he added.
“You always have to believe. Everyone in the stadium will support us. We have a good example, too: the game against Dortmund here last season, 4-0.
“Every half, we want to score two goals. Maybe it could be one goal. We know it’s difficult. We play a fantastic team. They hurt us a lot in the last match.”
Barça have lost Robert Lewandowski ahead of the game.
The Poland striker fractured his eye socket against Villarreal and joins Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Andreas Christensen on the injury list, while Eric García is suspended.
Barça have strengthened in other areas since the first leg loss to Atlético, though, with the return of Pedri and Raphinha from injury in recent weeks, which Flick says has transformed his team’s performances.
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“It’s good to have [Pedri back]; we will see how many minutes he can play,” Flick said.
“We saw in the last game against Villarreal a totally different team. Everyone was fighting, a lot of intensity in our game.
“This is what we have to do tomorrow, play like a team, like one unit. We have to play smart, but with this hunger to make it happen.”