Hansi Flick expressed regret over Barcelona's elimination from the Champions League by Atletico, while urging the entire team to focus on winning the La Liga title.
The Champions League stage still doesn't belong to Hansi Flick's Barcelona . A year after being eliminated by Inter in the semi-finals, they now lose overall to Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals.
Barca played very well in the first 20 minutes, inspired by Lamine Yamal – who scored the opening goal; and the effectiveness of Ferran Torres.
However, Atletico still played confidently and scored a goal through Lookman. Barca won 2-1 in the second leg at the Metropolitano, but it was Diego Simeone's team who secured their place in the semi-finals.
"After watching both matches, we deserved to reach the semi-finals," Hansi Flick responded to the media.
Flick praised the players' performance: “That’s football, of course. We have to do better, but with the right spirit and attitude, the whole team gave their all.”
That's what we wanted to see. They did a great job, and in the end, it's a shame we didn't achieve our goal."
Barca had 14 shots on target to score 2 goals after 180 minutes. Meanwhile, Atletico only needed 4 accurate shots to score 3 goals.
Some Barcelona players complained that referee Clement Turpin made many unreasonable decisions. This was raised repeatedly in the press conference.
"I don't want to talk about the referee, because I can't change anything," Flick replied.
"That's how things are, and I have to accept it. I don't want to. It might be better for you if I spoke up, but I won't."
Hansi Flick concluded: “The next step is to win La Liga. We are on the right track, but it’s not over yet.”
I think there are many more games to come; we have to accept this result, show the right attitude, play well, and stick together. That's what I want from the whole team.
Of course, we're disappointed; we're all. That's normal, because winning the Champions League is a big dream.
We are heading in the right direction, and we have to learn from these things. We are a young team, and we can improve even more next season.”