Head coach of Barcelona Hansi Flick says Italian Serie A side Atalanta won’t find it easy to defeat his side in tomorrow’s UEFA Champions League game, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Barcelona will play their final group game in the new format of the UEFA Champions League against the Gian Piero Gasperini led side who are also pushing for an automatic top 8 spot to avoid the two legged play off as route to the knock out round.
Atalanta were however rocked by a big setback with their talisman Ademola Lookman set to miss the game due to a knee injury, which will likely keep him out for a month.
Flick was asked about the absence of the Nigerian who is the current Africa Player of the Year, and he said it will no doubt make it hard for Atalanta to win, but says he still expect them to play as a team like they have always been under Gasperini.
“Lookman not playing? Of course when you lose an important player it’s not easy. But I think Gasperini knows his team very well. For me, I usually don’t focus on one or two players, I always look at the team as a whole and how they perform”, Flick said at the pre match presser.
“I don’t think the style they want to play will change much. There is a kind of spontaneity that comes from training and playing a lot of games. So, in the end, I don’t think things will change much.”
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
