La Liga

Gimenez on Barcelona – ‘If we stop them scoring, we’ll get chances’

By Admin / December 2, 2025

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has categorised images of Hansi Flick looking disconsolate on the Barcelona bench as ‘normal’, ahead of their meeting at Camp Nou on Tuesday night. Los Colchoneros head into the tie on a seven-game winning streak, with Barcelona in less illustrious form, but sitting top.

Simeone spoke to the press ahead of the game, and was keen to emphasize the offensive prowess of Barcelona, and their defined style.

“The type of match we expect is crystal clear. They’re an opponent with an incredible attack, a well-positioned style of play, and some very important individual players, and we’ll have to be strong in that aspect to compete. We’ll have to take the game to where we think we can hurt them.”

“I see it the same way everyone else does: they’re a team that has proven their style and their game plan. They don’t change their attacking strategy or their high defensive line, which has yielded fantastic results. We know we’re playing against a team with tactical variations, and we have to lure them into positions where we think we can hurt them.”

“We’re human, we have emotions’ – Simeone on Flick

One of the talking points of the weekend was the image of Flick looking upset on the Barcelona bench, despite having just beaten Alaves 3-1. Simeone gave it little importance, feeling it was a natural reaction.

“It’s normal. We’re human; we have feelings and emotions. From the sidelines, it’s always easier to see and ask for things, but playing isn’t so simple. And doing it in so many consecutive matches, always having to give your all, is more complicated. From our perspective, being on the outside, we want to see things better, and that’s what we expect.”

Llorente will miss out against Barcelona.
Image via Clive Mason/Getty Images

Los Rojiblancos head into the match with two key absences in Marcos Llorente and Robin Le Normand. Marc Pubill is predicted to start in Llorente’s stead, with Simeone confirming that the Spain international would not be back in time.

“Marcos is still recovering. Pubill and Nahuel are different: Molina is much more offensive, gets further forward, and is more important in the final third. Marc can give us options at centre-back and a different style of play for that position.”

Jose Maria Gimenez – ‘We’ll try to stifle their attack’

Later on Monday night, defender Jose Maria Gimenez spoke to Atletico’s club channels to preview the game. The Uruguayan called on his team to be defensively stout in the face of Barcelona’s attack.

“They’ll want to take the initiative, and we’ll be strong defensively to try and stifle their attack, paying close attention to the wings, where they have very dangerous players. We’ll also focus on teamwork and being strong in duels. It’s been proven that we do this very well when we have the ball, when we’re calm, when we break through, when we combine, when we’re mobile… It’s a game that’s all about the mindset.”

Should they manage to achieve that, then Gimenez was confident that his side would exploit Barcelona’s flaky defence going in the other direction.

“We’re very clear that with the team we have, if we defend well and prevent them from scoring, we’ll create chances and have them. There’s a lot of quality, a lot of good players. If the starters aren’t creating chances, there’s always a teammate who will, someone with that hunger we all have. I don’t think there’s any other way for good things to happen than through hard work. Luck is always a consequence; you have to make the most of it. If you work hard, put in the effort, and commit to what the team needs, luck will probably be on your side.”

 



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