FC Barcelona’s plane has landed in enemy territory. The team knows the mission, and preparations have begun. Barça will need at least two goals to overturn a 0-2 loss against Atlético Madrid and continue on their quest to win the UEFA Champions League.
The expedition landed in Madrid at 12:30 p.m. local time. Hansi Flick and Lamine Yamal will attend a pre-match press conference at 5:15 p.m., shortly before the squad trains at 6 p.m., for the final time before the match, which is tomorrow at 9 p.m.
The players have been in good spirits on the trip. Lamine Yamal, Alejandro Balde and Fermin Lopez were spotted joking about the new scar on Fermin’s head after a collision in training.
“It’s Harry Potter ‘s scar,” jokes Yamal. “It’s warrior stuff” is the reponse from Lopez. And Balde adds: “Thanks to this, we’re going to turn things around, I’ve already said it.”
Dani Olmo is also feeling confident, predicting Ferran Torres will score another brace after his two goals against Espanyol at the weekend.
Three thousand fans will accompany the blaugrana at the Metropolitano Stadium, as well as acting club president Rafael Yuste, vice-president Josep Cubells, and president-elect Joan Laporta.
The team will stay at the Eurostars Madrid Tower hotel, the same hotel they stayed at last time they went to Madrid for a league game which ended in triumph. The starting XI is yet to be defined but Hansi Flick is sure to be cooking something special as Barcelona will require a legendary performance to score multiple goals against Diego Simeone’s defensively resilient team.
Barcelona will be looking to avenge an elimination from the Copa del Rey this season as well as previous eliminations at the hands of Atlético in previous editions of the Champions League.
