Ammon – Barcelona coach Hansi Flick described a heavy 4-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Spanish King’s Cup semi-final yesterday, Thursday, as a “wake-up call” and urged his players to learn from this harsh experience.

At the noisy Metropolitano Stadium, the defending champion suffered its biggest loss this season, with Barcelona finding itself facing a complex task in the return match at Camp Nou.

Flick expressed his regret for his team’s lack of cohesion during the match, but he remained optimistic about the chances of returning the result in the second leg and told reporters, “We did not play well as a team. When you do not play in this way, it is natural for problems to arise. There were large spaces between the players, and pressure was absent. Sometimes it is good to learn a lesson like this… Today was a hard lesson and a difficult defeat, but we have to accept it.”

The German coach admitted that his team was the weaker side since the starting whistle, although he noticed some improvement after the break, adding, “We did not play well from the first minute. We have a young team, but that is not an excuse. The second half was better… but we will fight. We have two halves of 45 minutes each, and we can score two goals in each half.”

While Flick focused on the weaknesses, Atletico coach Diego Simeone praised his players and the exceptional atmosphere in the Metropolitano Stadium, which he said gave the team a great boost.

Simeone said, “You could feel incredible energy on the field, and life is energy. This energy came from our fans, and we were able to keep up with it. I think we played wonderfully, and today’s match will remain in the memory regardless of the outcome of the confrontation. Our fans need matches like these and these big nights, and we were able to return the favor to them in the best way.” “Reuters”