Barcelona’s head coach Hansi Flick has reacted to the Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has boldly claimed that his squad deserved to advance to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals following their agonising 3-2 aggregate elimination at the hands of Atletico Madrid.
Lookman sends Barcelona out
After suffering a debilitating 2-0 first-leg defeat at the Camp Nou last week, Barcelona launched a ferocious, historic fightback at the Metropolitano.
Within the opening 24 minutes, early strikes from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres completely wiped out Diego Simeone’s aggregate advantage.
However, the Catalan club’s dramatic comeback hopes were shattered just seven minutes later when Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman found the back of the net in the 31st minute.
Despite Barcelona ultimately winning the second-leg fixture 2-1, Lookman’s decisive strike officially condemned Flick’s men to another painful European exit
Flick expressed his disappointment following the defeat, decrying the chances they missed. Still, he insisted that they deserved to qualify based on the balance of play.
“We’re disappointed. We had plenty of chances, especially in the first half. We had the chance to score a third goal, but instead we conceded,” he said.
“I’m very proud of the team’s performance and the way we played. Over the two matches, we deserved to reach the semi-finals.”
The heartbreaking elimination was further compounded by refereeing controversies that derailed Barcelona’s late push, most notably the 79th-minute straight red card shown to defender Eric Garcia.
Following a lengthy VAR review by French referee Clément Turpin for a contentious challenge, the dismissal forced Barcelona to finish the tie with 10 men, frustratingly mirroring their disciplinary collapse from the first leg, where Pau Cubarsí was also sent off.