Barcelona-Atletico: Flick hopes that Lamine Yamal will be fit
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick hopes that Lamine Yamal will be fit to face Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal.
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Flick hopes that Yamal will be fit vs Atletico Madrid
Yamal left the field in the final stages of Saturday’s 2-0 win at Las Palmas in LaLiga.
The 17-year-old shared a photograph of his bloodied foot on social media, writing: “But it’s not a foul,” followed by laughing emojis, referring to the unpunished tackle.
He sat out training on Monday, but Flick is hopeful he will be ready to face Atletico.
“We have to wait [on Yamal],” he said in a news conference.
“But I think positive on this, that he can play tomorrow, that’s also what the doctor said.”
Yamal endured three of the 12 fouls called against Las Palmas during the game.
However, Barca believed many more challenges went unpunished, prompting calls for referees to do more to protect the young winger.
“We cannot say to protect especially Lamine, Raphinha or [Real Madrid duo] Vinicius [Junior] and [Kylian] Mbappe — it’s every player,” Flick added.
“If it’s a really tough foul, it’s also about a yellow card. When you don’t get it, next time, as a defender, it gives you the confidence [to make] a very tough tackle.”
“We have to be more sensitive about this. We have to protect the players. All players, not only special players.”
“Here in Spain, everyone loves a player who goes in 1 vs. 1 situations. This is what is really special here. This is what fans love and we have to protect this.”
Chance for redemption at Copa del Rey
Barca’s win over Las Palmas kept them at the top of LaLiga, level on points with Real Madrid and one point ahead of Atletico.
They lost 2-1 at home to Atletico in LaLiga in December, but Barca has a chance to gain the upper hand on Tuesday.
“The positive we learned from that match is we can play really good football,” he said.
“What we showed there was on the highest level.”
“Now it’s a new match and we have to show [it again]. [Atletico] is a great team, they invest a lot of money for this team and they’re doing really good.”
“They have the best defence, but unbelievable players in offence as well. It’s a tough match.”
