FC Barcelona have been left with a mountain to climb in their Copa del Rey semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid after the first leg at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano ended in a heavy 4-0 loss.
Indeed, the Blaugrana returned with a huge disadvantage heading into the second leg scheduled for 3 March at the Spotify Camp Nou, with a performance that left manager Hansi Flick far from pleased.
Barcelona convinced of mounting a comeback
However, according to Mundo Deportivo, despite the odds being stacked against them, the Barcelona dressing room is convinced that a comeback is possible.
The players believe they can overturn the four-goal deficit inflicted by Atletico Madrid in the first leg. The staff and the squad have gathered reasons to believe in their qualification for the final.
Within the club, it is recalled that since the arrival of Flick in 2024, Barça have achieved 12 victories by at least a four-goal margin – a result that would take the tie to extra time.
However, it must be noted that those wins came against opponents of lesser quality than Atletico, including a 7-0 against Valladolid, a 5-0 against Young Boys and, this season, a 6-0 against Valencia and a 6-1 against Olympiacos.
Raphinha and Pedri will be available for the second leg. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
The most positive aspect is that Flick will be able to count on Pedri, Raphinha and Marcus Rashford for the return leg, after the trio missed the first leg in Madrid due to injuries.
Moreover, playing at home works in their favour. In La Liga, they have won all 11 home matches this season, and a total of 14 out of 15, across all competitions.
The report further states that Flick has also given the instruction to score two goals in the first half and two more in the second, and the players believe they are capable of achieving this if they impose intensity from the first moment.
The Barcelona players also maintain that there is enough goal-scoring capacity, even though they failed to score in the first leg. After all, the Catalans have scored 99 goals in 37 matches in all competitions this season.