Diego Simeone praises Raphinha and analyses Barcelona ahead of Atletico clash: ‘An extraordinary footballer’

Diego Simeone praises Raphinha and analyses Barcelona ahead of Atletico clash: ‘An extraordinary footballer’ Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has offered an assessment of Barcelona ahead of their crucial La Liga encounter , praising Hansi Flick’s tactical influence while highlighting the attacking qualities of Raphinha and the challenges posed by the Catalans.  Speaking during the pre-match briefing, the Argentine also discussed Julian Alvarez, Barcelona’s evolution from last season and the tactical adjustments required to compete against one of Europe’s most dangerous attacking teams. Simeone made it clear that Atletico cannot afford to focus exclusively on individual Barcelona players. Instead, he wants his team to maintain its collective organisation and dictate the areas in which the contest is played. Simeone explains the challenge of facing Barcelona Asked how he intended to motivate Atletico’s defence against a Barcelona side with several goalscoring threats, Simeone emphasised the importance of the team’s overall approach. “We’re not looking to motivate the defence, but rather to try, as a team, to continue in the same vein and play the sort of match we want to.” The Atletico manager also addressed his team’s previous success against Barcelona in knockout competitions , refusing to draw conclusions from historical results. “I don’t have a reason to explain certain results. We’re always playing against a very good team – possibly the best; I have no doubt about that. Simeone has nothing but praise for Flick and Barcelona. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images) “They have immense talent from midfield onwards. It’ll be tough, difficult – as it always is against Barça – and we’ll have to take the game to where we think we can cause them problems,” he explained . When asked whether Barcelona remain as strong as they were when he described them as the world’s best team in 2021, Simeone avoided making comparisons. “It’s not my place to make comparisons, but rather to prepare for tomorrow’s match and ensure we perform as well as possible for our fans and our team.” Simeone praises Raphinha and discusses Julian Alvarez Simeone was particularly complimentary when discussing Raphinha, whose performances have made him one of Barcelona’s most influential attacking players. “He’s an extraordinary footballer – hard-working, fast, scoring goals, providing assists. “Last season was incredible and he’s made a brilliant start to this one, playing in a different position where he’s also performing very well and providing a wealth of options for a team with plenty of versatility.” The Atletico manager also gave a brief assessment of his own attacking star Julian Alvarez when asked about his importance ahead of the encounter, simply stating, “He’s doing very well.” Simeone identifies what has changed in Flick’s Barcelona Simeone says Barcelona’s style has not changed since last season. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) Lastly, Simeone believes Barcelona have largely maintained their identity under Flick, particularly their aggressive pressing and willingness to defend high up the pitch. “Their style of play hasn’t changed, because it’s very good and really reflects their manager’s philosophy. “He’s done an extraordinary job since arriving at Barça and has instilled in the players the idea of high pressing and playing high up the pitch. “They’re very good at winning the ball back and are very clinical in front of goal. What has changed? We can see that Lewandowski was more of a positional number nine. “At times, he tried to change that in certain phases with Olmo, who is different to Raphinha. Raphinha can drop into an attacking midfield role to link play. “The team has lost the reference point provided by Lewandowski, and defending is more complex, because Raphinha isn’t the same as a centre-forward in the box,” he concluded. Source: AS