Simeone: We cannot switch off
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has told his players they will have to play every minute "as if it was the last" if they are to overcome Barcelona and reach the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday night.
Atletico trail 1-0 heading into the second leg at their Vicente Calderon home after conceding an 85th-minute Lionel Messi goal in last week's first meeting at the Nou Camp. It may not be much of an advantage for Barça, but Simeone is well aware how tough it will be to overcome a side that have won 16 of their last 18 competitive games - during which time they have scored 61 goals and conceded just seven - as well as losing just once in their last 14 encounters with Atletico.
"We need to live every minute as if it was the last of the game, and by doing that we will have a better chance of achieving our objective," Simeone said at his pre-match press conference. "We need to play in that manner from the first minute until the 95th, or whenever it is. Playing against them you cannot switch off."
While their recent record against Barça is nothing to shout about, Atletico know what it takes to overcome the 26-time record Copa del Rey champions in a knockout competition. They beat Barça 1-0 at home in the second leg of last season's UEFA Champions League to progress through to the semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate.
Simeone does not believe that success will have much bearing on this clash, though, saying: "It's different because our players and theirs are different. That was a Champions League game and this is the cup."
Barça coach Luis Enrique was not in charge for those European matches, but he has studied what happened and is not expecting to see anything different from Atletico. He said: "I've seen all Barcelona matches from last season. We've analysed them this season too. I expect the usual style of play from Atletico and even more so playing at home. I imagine it will be a tough Atletico team."
Villarreal will take the same lead as Barcelona to Madrid when they go to Getafe for their second leg on Thursday. The Yellow Submarine, who play Barça in La Liga at the weekend, are on a 17-match unbeaten run in all competitions but Getafe will have been boosted by Monday's 2-1 win over Celta Vigo - their first league victory since October.
Espanyol boast the biggest first-leg lead after beating Sevilla 3-1 in Barcelona last week, but Carlos Bacca's stoppage-time strike for the Andalusian side could yet prove crucial. Bacca said on Tuesday: "We shouldn't think about scoring two goals, but of winning. It's been a long time since we lost at home and we have to continue that record. We're very strong, the team is looking good, with confidence, and we hope that things come out well. It's going to be an excellent day, which we cannot wait to arrive."
The other quarter-final between Athletic Bilbao and Malaga is locked at 0-0 heading into the second leg at San Mames.
