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Barcelona coach Hansi Flick is optimistic Lamine Yamal will be fit to face Atlético Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday.
Yamal came off in the final stages of Saturday’s 2-0 win at Las Palmas in LaLiga and later posted a photograph of his bloodied foot on social media.
The 17-year-old subsequently sat out training on Monday, but Flick is hopeful he will be ready to face Atlético.
“We have to wait [on Yamal],” he said in a news conference. “But I think positive on this, that he can play tomorrow, that’s also what the doctor said.”
The image posted by Yamal over the weekend was accompanied with the caption: “But it’s not a foul,” followed by laughing emojis, in reference to the tackle going unpunished.
He suffered three of the 12 fouls given against Las Palmas during the game, but Barça felt many more challenges went unpunished, leading to calls for referees to do more to protect the winger.
“We cannot say to protect especially Lamine, Raphinha or [Real Madrid duo] Vinícius [Junior] and [Kylian] Mbappé — it’s every player,” Flick added.
“If it’s a really tough foul, it’s also about a yellow card. When you don’t get it, next time, as a defender, it gives you the confidence [to make] a very tough tackle.
“We have to be more sensitive about this. We have to protect the players. All players, not only special players.
“Here in Spain, everyone loves a player who goes in 1 vs. 1 situations. This is what is really special here. This is what fans love and we have to protect this.”
Barça’s win over Las Palmas kept them top of LaLiga, level on points with Real Madrid and just one point ahead of Atlético, and they now turn their attention to the Copa del Rey.
They were beaten 2-1 at home by Atlético in LaLiga in December, but Flick was delighted with how his team played in defeat that day.
“The positive we learned from that match is we can play really good football,” he said. “What we showed there was on the highest level.
“Now it’s a new match and we have to show [it again]. [Atlético] is a great team, they invest a lot of money for this team and they’re doing really good.
“They have the best defence, but unbelievable players in offence as well. It’s a tough match.”
The tie will not be decided on Tuesday, with the second leg scheduled for the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on April 2.
Flick’s counterpart Diego Simeone said he knew how we wants his team to perform in his Monday news conference.
“We have a very clear idea of the game we want to play,” he said. “I like how [Barça] play a lot. They’re very strong, with their high line. We’ll try to hurt them.
“When you play the biggest teams, there are periods in the game where you’re going to suffer, and you have to be ready to resist. We’ll have good moments tomorrow, and moments when we suffer. That’s what happened against [Real] Madrid. Let’s hope that there are more good moments for us, and more decisive ones.”
Real Madrid meet Real Sociedad in the other semifinal, with the first leg to be played at Anoeta on Wednesday and the return game at the Bernabéu on April 1.
