Hansi Flick makes revelation about Lewandowski and leaves a message to Yamal
Polish forward will be on the team sheet against Inter for a place in the UEFA Champions League final
Barcelona ‘s fairytale season could be about to begin again if the Blaugrana beat Inter in Milan and secure their place in the UEFA Champions League final . In a preview of the semi-final second leg of the competition, Hansi Flick said: “Should I put more pressure on the players? I don’t think so. At the beginning we had no idea what we were going to achieve. We have won two titles and the next two weeks are going to be very important.”
“I want my team to be aware and enjoy it. Players grow in these games. It’s a semi-final, but we have to make the most of it. Players never give up,” said Flick, who was completely satisfied with his players’ performance. The German coach downplayed the lack of experience of the vast majority of his players in such advanced stages of the millionaire competition.
The most anticipated return
Having already won a UEFA Champions League with Bayern in 2012/13, Robert Lewandowski is the exception to the rule for the Blaugrana . Four games later, the Polish forward is back in the squad, but according to Flick, he is not guaranteed a place in the starting eleven at the Giuseppe Meazza : «He is recovering faster than expected. He is ready to be on the bench, when we need him he will come on.»
Among the four games he missed due to injury, the Polish forward did not play in the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid (3-2) or the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals against Inter (3-3). In the absence of the veteran goalscorer, Lamine Yamal took to the main stage and wowed everyone.
Flick is full of praise for his pupil, but leaves one guarantee: «What matters is the team. Lamine is a genius, everything he does is incredible. He presses well, and at just 17 years old he helped us recover.»
Despite having defended his players from the beginning to the end of the press conference, Flick admitted that the Catalans have to “defend much better” to overcome Simone Inzaghi’s team.
In the first leg, Inter scored twice in Barcelona from set pieces. Asked whether his players needed to avoid conceding corners in the return leg, Flick replied with a humorous aside: “That’s a good idea, we’ll make some changes.”
