Online Reporter
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was keen to keep talk of trophies in check after his side booked their spot in the Copa del Rey final against rivals Real Madrid with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Barcelona are on a 21-game unbeaten run across all competitions and are the only team in Europe’s top-five leagues yet to lose in 2025 as they bid for three titles playing some of the best football the fans have seen this season.
But Flick remained cautious about their chances of winning the treble and urged his players to maintain a next-game mentality, warning that the club have little margin for error.
“I know everyone wants us to talk about the final, it’s a ‘Clasico’, I get that, but I don’t live in the past or in the future and our focus should be Betis, who are our next opponents in LaLiga,” Flick told a press conference.
“Yes, we are in a great moment but I’ve been in this business enough time to know how everything can change in a heartbeat, so we need to keep focused.
“Dreaming is allowed but first we need to work really hard and stay focused so we can keep that dream alive.”
Barcelona are top of the LaLiga standings with 66 points, three ahead of Real, with third-placed Atletico six further points back in the title race with nine games left.
Real will travel to London to face Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals next week while Barca will host Borussia Dortmund.
They will meet in the Copa del Rey final on April 26 before they clash again at Barcelona on May 11 in a game that could decide the LaLiga title.
“Tonight I’ll stick with this formidable win which made me really happy,” Flick said.
“Everyone can be proud of this team, we coaches are proud of this team. I am always positive, so I won’t deny that I had great expectations for this team when I arrived last summer.
“I told them that I was very happy, that if we played like we did that day we would win. We were brave and we knew how to suffer. It’s not easy to keep a clean sheet in this stadium, Atletico are one of the best teams in Europe. So we should be really proud.” − Reuters
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