Tag: Barca

Barcelona have not lost a game this year but their manager Hansi Flick is not getting carried away ahead of tonight’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund.

Barca top the LaLiga standings ahead of Real Madrid with eight matches left and will play their arch-rivals in this month’s Copa del Rey final.

“We can dream, but players and coaches must keep our feet on the ground,” Flick told reporters. “We have to look at what we have achieved, based on hard work, and it must not be the end. We have to pull out all the stops to keep going.

“We want to continue without losing this year, but we have to perform at our best against a very strong rival.”

Dortmund finished runners-up to record 15-times European champions Real in the Champions League last season, but have struggled domestically in this campaign and are only eighth in the Bundesliga.

They suffered another blow this week when German centre back Nico Schlotterbeck was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a serious knee injury.

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“I prefer to play against the better team. I’m sorry about Nico’s loss and I wish him well. Dortmund have a lot of classy players and they are in the quarters for a reason. The absentees will have little influence on them,” Flick said.

The former Bayern Munich coach was asked about Brazilian forward Raphinha, who was only a substitute in Barca’s 1-1 LaLiga home draw with Real Betis on Saturday.

Raphinha, 28, has scored 27 goals and provided 20 assists in 44 appearances in all competitions for Barca this season.

“We have tried, after the international break, to get him back on his feet. What I see in the session is the same as I saw before: he’s very active, awake, dynamic… it shows that he’s ready for tomorrow’s game,” the German said.

Level on points (38) at the top of the La Liga table, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will lock horns in a huge game this  evening, with any potential winner guaranteeing themselves first position in the division heading into 2025.

Barcelona are at the summit due to their superior goal difference, but Atletico, who have a game in hand on the division leaders, are the form team entering this contest, with Diego Simeone’s side on an incredible 11-game winning run in all competitions.

Barcelona boast a record of 12 wins, two draws and four defeats from their 18 La Liga matches this season, with 38 points enough to top the table on goal difference, but they have played a game more than both second-placed Atletico and third-placed Real Madrid, with the latter only one point behind ahead of the next set of fixtures in Spain’s top flight.

The Catalan outfit’s form earlier this season suggested that they could run away with the title this term, but they have only won one of their last six matches in the league, suffering three defeats in the process.

Hansi Flick’s side were stunned by Leganes last time out, suffering a 1-0 home defeat, and they have now lost their last two matches at their temporary home against Las Palmas and Leganes.

Barcelona are in an excellent position in the Champions League table, sitting second, three points behind leaders Liverpool, so it has been a very successful first half of the campaign, but another defeat on Saturday would be a huge setback and may see them end 2024 in third spot, which would be a disappointment considering what has occurred this term.

Not since February 2006 have Atletico managed to win an away league game against Barcelona, who are on a five-game winning run over the White and Reds, including a 1-0 success in the corresponding match last term.

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Atletico have not scored a league goal against Barcelona since February 2022, while their last top-flight win over Saturday’s opponents was in October 2021, so it has been a struggle for the capital giants in this fixture of late.

Simeone’s side will enter the match in excellent form, though, having won each of their last 11 matches in all competitions, including their last six in the league against Las Palmas, Mallorca, Alaves, Real Valladolid, Sevilla and Getafe.

Alexander Sorloth came off the bench to hit the winner against Getafe last time out, with the result moving Atletico into second spot in the table, level on points with Barcelona, crucially with a game in hand.

Atletico have again been excellent defensively this season, only conceding 11 times, which is the joint-best record alongside Real Sociedad, while Antoine Griezmann, Sorloth and Julian Alvarez have 19 league goals between them in 2024-25.

LALIGA leaders Barcelona’s 125th anniversary celebrations were spoiled by Las Palmas who claimed a shock 2-1 victory on Saturday after Fábio Silva scored the winner to extend the hosts’ winless league run to three games.

In a game dominated by Barça, who had 70% of possession and peppered the goal with almost 30 shots, it was Las Palmas who made their few chances count to claim a famous triumph.

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Barça remain on 34 points and lead second placed Real Madrid by four but their rivals now have two games in hand, while the victory moved Las Palmas up to 14th place on 15 points.

“I think when we don’t score the goals, the team struggles a little bit and this is what we have to change,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said.

“If we don’t score a goal, then maybe it’s possible for us to keep a clean sheet. So we have to defend better as a team, not only the last four or the defensive players, but the whole team and we can do it better.”

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick backed reserve goalkeeper Inaki Pena to replace stricken team-mate Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but also said the club must discuss if they will sign a replacement.

Germany international Ter Stegen was taken off with a ruptured knee tendon against Villarreal on Sunday and is likely to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery.

Pena, who stepped in for Ter Stegen last season when he was sidelined with a back injury, is poised to start in goal against Getafe tonight in La Liga.

 “First of all Inaki is doing really well, in pre-season and training, he’s also a professional goalkeeper, he trained very hard for that,” Flick told a news conference. “For a second goalkeeper it’s always difficult to be focussed but from what I can see he’s absolutely focussed and he’s ready to play.

 “We have confidence in him but we also have to see what we are doing (about the situation).”

Pena, 25, conceded 32 goals in 17 matches across all competitions last season, keeping only three clean sheets.

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Besides Pena, Barcelona have goalkeepers Ander Astralaga, 20, and Diego Kochen, 18, who is currently out injured.

Barcelona are able to sign a free agent to replace Ter Stegen, with Spanish media linking former Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas with the league leaders.

 “We will talk about (what to do) later, because behind (Pena) we have only really young players and if something will change, we have to be careful about that,” continued Flick.

 “We have no pressure now, we’ll see what happens and we’ll speak together, also with (goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente) because this is important for me… He’s the first person I will speak to and we will see.”

Barcelona have a perfect record in La Liga after six games and 17-year-old starlet Lamine Yamal has been in dazzling form, playing almost every minute of the campaign to date, scoring three goals and setting up five.

 “I think he could be the best (player) in the world in the future, 100 percent,” said Flick, who argued Spain’s Euro 2024 winning star is not in need of a rest.

 “We have all the data from the players, at the moment he doesn’t need a rest – he’s doing well,” added the coach.

 “What he’s doing this season is really unbelievable, also the other players and we have to continue this performance.”

Barcelona made Nico Williams their top target for the 2024 summer transfer window, but were stonewalled by the Basque winger, who decided to remain in Bilbao for ‘at least one more year’, in his own words.

The 22-year-old is set for a starring role this year for Athletic Club, as they return to action.

For Barcelona, he remains at the top of their agenda though. Sport report that relations with Williams remain intact, and that a move is intended for the summer of 2025. This will not only give them extra time to put together the €62m necessary to sign Williams, but was also their original plan. The Catalan daily say that they had initially intended to move for Williams next year, but his incredible showing at Euro 2024 persuaded President Joan Laporta to bring their plans forward.

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Laporta has promised that Barcelona will be back within their salary limit by the January transfer window, but had made the same promise for this summer, and his credibility is starting to wane when it comes to public declarations on the club’s finances. With nearly a year before Barcelona would look to carry out their plan, plenty can change between then and now.