FC Barcelona under Hansi Flick are already in the semifinals despite losing the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against Borussia Dortmund. The Catalan team played a lackluster game against a German team that came out all guns blazing and at times believed it was possible.
The Barcelona coach spoke to Movistar Plus after losing to Borussia Dortmund but qualifying for the Champions League semifinals. First Flick expressed his opinion about the game: “A very good opponent and the atmosphere was tremendous. It’s not easy to play these kinds of games. In the end we qualified and that was our goal”.
The feelings were not the best. “We’ve had two games, and in one we won and in the other we lost. But, in the end, the final answer is that we’ve reached the semifinals. It was a great game, Dortmund played very well. But I don’t want to put too much pressure on my team either, because I don’t think it would be fair to Dortmund. Of course, we could play better, but they showed their quality as players. They worked very hard. And, in the end, the most important thing is what I said: reaching the semifinals.”
The Barcelona team are back in the semifinals six years after the last time they played in them, when they lost to Liverpool. Flick appreciated this fact. “It’s very important for the fans, for the club. It’s incredible to reach the semifinals in the first year. It means that we are one of the four best teams in Europe and that’s fantastic,” added the Barcelona coach.
Youth of the squad “At the end of the day, it’s not about age. We focus on quality, and that’s what we have. This season, we have seen what these players can give. I am very happy, very satisfied with the team and with its results. And we have reached the Champions League semi-finals. This is a resounding success, and we are going to celebrate it today”.
Maintaining the style of play “Yes. In every game we have to show what our style is, and after today we will have to analyze the points for improvement. But I have complete confidence in the team, and I know that we will return to the quality we had, that we will recover. Today was very important because we saw what is at stake. Dortmund played extraordinarily well, she tried her hardest to reach the semi-final. So yes, it’s important”.
Points for improvement ‘We need time to analyze the game. Today we have to celebrate the result: we have reached the semi-final. And, in the coming days, we are going to analyze the points for improvement, the points where we can do better to prepare for the next game’.
Substituting Pedri “No, Pedri has played many minutes and many games in recent weeks, so today was the time to give him a break and have him play fewer minutes. I think it was also very important that he played, because he showed his qualities and, for us, his control of the ball is also very important. He played fewer minutes today, and this is going to help us for the next game.”
The manager didn’t reveal anything about the possible semi-final opponent. Bayern or Inter? “I’ll sit at home and enjoy the game. I don’t have a favorite. I don’t prefer anyone.”