Barcelona celebrated passage to a second final of the season on Wednesday night, squeezing past a hardy Atletico Madrid side at the Metropolitano 1-0. As they return back to the Catalan capital, Hansi Flick will now have to count the cost of the game.
It was to the surprise of many that Robert Lewandowski and Gavi were left on the bench from the start, with Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres chosen by Flick instead. By all accounts, Torres’ inclusion was mostly down to form, but in the case of Gavi, it came as something of a surprise.
According to MD, Gavi’s exclusion was down to a fitness concern. It was equally surprising that Gavi was not sent on in the second half as Flick tried to inject some energy into his side, with Frenkie de Jong moving to the number 10 spot, a rarity for him this season. The 20-year-old seemingly felt pain in the warm-up, as appeared evident at the end of the match, when Flick appeared to ask him how he was feeling. The Catalan daily are not yet sure if he will be able to face Real Betis at Montjuic this weekend.
💘 COMPLICITAT ABSOLUTA
🫂 Les abraçades de Flick amb els seus jugadors al final del partit i la xerrada amb Balde#LaCopa3Cat
▶️ https://t.co/bqG4uwcpNY pic.twitter.com/kRqhgCzgu6
— Esport3 (@esport3) April 2, 2025
That is also the case for four other players, who received some heavy fouls during the game, and will be assessed once the adrenaline has worn off. Lamine Yamal was seen limping heavily in the second half after a challenge from Clement Lenglet drew blood. Raphinha also spent time on the ground injured after a studs up challenge from Cesar Azpilicueta, and Eric Garcia’s ankle was also caught in full flight by the studs of Nahuel Molina. Meanwhile Inigo Martinez was seen flexing his thigh in the final minutes of the encounter, as he appeared to test his leg.
In the days leading up to the Copa del Rey game against Atlético Madrid, Hansi Flick told the team that they had to win to get revenge for Raphinha. The Brazilian returned from international duty very affected physically and mentally, after Brazil’s heavy 4-1 defeat against…
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 3, 2025
Betis will be without star playmaker Isco through suspension on Saturday, but it is a growing list of concerns for the Barcelona medical staff. Dani Olmo is already set for another two weeks on the touchline, while Marc Bernal, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Marc Casado and Andreas Christensen are all out of action currently too.
