🚨Sevilla head coach Luis García on Barcelona’s 3-1 comeback against Sevilla:
🗣️ Luis García: “Tonight was one of those games where you sit on the bench and eventually tell yourself, ‘There is nothing more we can do.’
We started brilliantly. Our plan was simple: don’t let Lamine Yamal feel comfortable. We spent the entire week preparing for it, talking about his movement, his ability to receive between the lines, and we even asked our fans to make it difficult for him from the first minute.
Then we go 1-0 up.
I looked at my players and applauded them. I told them, ‘Now every loose ball is ours. Get to the ground, fight for everything, don’t give Barcelona a second.’
Five minutes later, Raphinha receives the ball.
I watched him take on my defender, sit him down, then do the same thing to my goalkeeper before calmly finishing.
I just stood there.
I told the defenders, ‘Okay, it’s 1-1. Forget it. Stay focused. Don’t lose concentration.’
Then Lamine gets the ball, puts a cross into the box and somehow a space appears that wasn’t there two seconds earlier.
Raphinha is there.
Header.
2-1.
At that moment, I scratched my head and looked at my bench. Then I looked across at Barcelona’s bench and thought, ‘This is going to be a very long night.’
It wasn’t.
Raphinha gets the ball again, takes my goalkeeper out of the equation and lifts the finish over him.
Hat-trick.
That was the moment I realised our problem tonight wasn’t Lamine Yamal.
It wasn’t Barcelona’s possession.
It wasn’t even their quality.
Our problem was Raphinha.
You stop him in midfield, he appears in the box. You defend the box, he finds another way. You put two players on him, he creates space for someone else.
And the frightening thing for a coach is watching your goalkeeper and defenders sitting on the ground after a goal.
Not once.
Twice.
Tonight Barcelona didn’t need to play the most beautiful football we have ever seen from them.
They just needed Raphinha to remind everyone why his name belongs in the Ballon d’Or conversation.
We tried to stop him.
We failed.
And when Raphinha decides he is going to win the game, sometimes there is simply nowhere to hide.”
🎙️ لويس غارسيا بلازا (مدرب إشبيلية):
انظر إلى المستوى الذي وصلوا إليه، حتى مجرد منافستهم أصبحت تبدو وكأننا نحقق شيئًا
إنهم في مستوى هائل، والفريق قدم مباراة جيدة جدًا
أعتقد أننا كنا الأفضل في الشوط الأول وكنا نستحق نتيجة أفضل
بعد ذلك هم يخضعونك، ويجبرونك على بذل مجهود بدني كبير جدًا إذا كنت تريد البقاء في نصف ملعبهم، ولذلك تراجعنا قليلًا
وهم يسددون، يسددون كثيرًا
لذلك لا يوجد أي شيء يمكنني لوم لاعبي فريقي عليه، وأنا سعيد جدًا بالمباراة التي قدموها
أعتقد أننا بالتأكيد أول فريق حتى الآن نافسهم بهذا الشكل
So after Barcelona’s match last night, Real Madrid fans finally admitted their team is trash and they all started crashing out. Never seen anything like this. Just in case you missed it, I’ve got you covered. Just sit down and watch till the end. 😭
Greatest crash out of all time.
On this day, 90 years ago, FC Barcelona president Josep Sunyol i Garriga was murdered by Francoist troops in the Sierra de Guadarrama https://t.co/exmQJ8vVon
🚨🚨🎙️| Ferran: "Barça needs to show that they love me, they can come negotiate, and in the end, everything will be discussed. Every time these teams (PSG) want you, it's good. I have a contract, in the end, with Barça. It's true that in football, you never know what might happen, but the good side is that since I have a contract, I can wait and decide for myself." [@Sportico] #fcblive