Soccer
Hansi Flick was full of pride for Barcelona’s display in their Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid, as he turned his focus to winning LaLiga.
Barca were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Atletico, despite winning Tuesday’s second leg 2-1.
Diego Simeone’s side can now look forward to taking on either Sporting CP or Arsenal in the semi-finals.
Barca, meanwhile, now have the target of winning one piece of major silverware this season. They are nine points clear of Real Madrid at the summit of LaLiga.
A title win could come against Los Blancos in El Clasico next month, but Flick is only concerned with getting the job done.
As reported by BBC Sport, Flick said: “We played a fantastic first half. We had to score more goals. It was really possible.
“At the end we conceded the goal. In the end, it’s football. But the attitude, I am really proud of that.
“The next step is to win La Liga. We have to show the attitude, the mentality. We are all disappointed. For everyone, it’s a big dream to win the Champions League.
“Of course, we have to learn but we also have a young team. We have to improve and we will improve next season.
24 – At 24 years and 347 days, @FCBarcelona have named their youngest ever starting XI for a UEFA @ChampionsLeague knockout stage match. Academy. pic.twitter.com/iNlYDt8qNE
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) April 14, 2026
“Today, it’s also good to speak about how the players are doing. Every day we have to learn more, we have to be better and this is what we want to do.
“I know it’s very disappointing for everyone but it’s football, it’s life and we have to come back.
“I don’t care about when we win La Liga. I want to win La Liga. It doesn’t matter what day we win La Liga. Now we can focus on La Liga. It’s tough because everyone believed that we could make it happen but we have to accept it and we will come back.”
Flick named a starting XI with an average age of 24 years and 347 days, which is the youngest team fielded by Barca in a Champions League knockout game.
They made a flying start, as Lamine Yamal scored the Blaugrana’s quickest goal in a Champions League knockout game since 2018.
Yamal’s goal made him the youngest player in Champions League history to reach 20 goal involvements in the competition.
Ferran Torres then dragged Barca level in the tie, but Ademola Lookman’s strike restored Atletico’s aggregate lead.
Barca saw a goal disallowed early in the second half, before Eric Garcia’s red card late on stemmed the Blaugrana’s comeback hopes.
Flick’s side are the first Spanish team to go 15 Champions League games in a row without keeping a clean sheet, but Frenkie de Jong bemoaned bad luck.
“We played a very good match,” De Jong told UEFA.
“We gave it our all. I have the feeling that luck wasn’t on our side. I think we’re growing and that we have a young, talented team that can compete for everything. We’re going to keep going like this.”
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