Madrid : Barcelona went ahead with their training session without injured midfielders Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets for the first leg of the Cope del Rey football semi-finals against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday.
While Iniesta and Busquets missed the work out session, the return of central midfielder Rafinha was good news for the coach, reports Efe.
The session was led by Luis Enrique just one day after the 1-1 away La Liga tie against Real Betis, which widened the gap behind leader Real Madrid to four points.
Barca will return to training on Tuesday before Enrique holds a presser for the match.
— COMPETITIVE —
Luis Enrique is in no doubt about the challenge facing his side in the Copa del Rey semi-final against Atlético Madrid which kicks off on Wednesday with the first leg in the Vicente Calderón. “Atlético compete marvelously and they leave you little space when they defend. We know they put you under pressure and try to win the ball back close to your own goal,” reflected the Barça coach before describing Diego Simeone’s outfit as “one of the teams that there is in Europe.”
The Asturian revealed some insight into the squad’s preparations for the away leg in Madrid on Wednesday. “The last two games at Camp Nou and the game in the Calderón, we have used as reference points for a video to show the players,” said Luis Enrique.
The Barça boss highlighted the way French defender Samuel Umtiti has settled into the team on and off the field thanks to his “tactical and physical attributes.” He continued by praising Argentinian Javier Mascherano: “Having him in the side is always positive and that’s why he plays so many games.”
Luis Enrique will still be without Iniesta and Sergio Busquets due to injury: “It’s a season when we have had obstacles to overcome but rotations are necessary to be able to compete on all fronts,” concluded the coach in front of reporters at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.
[alert type=”e.g. warning, danger, success, info” title=””]
Video referees?
The Spanish football league is likely to use the newly-introduced video refereeing system in 2018, league President Javier Tebas said.
A mistake which cost Barcelona a goal at the weekend sparked widespread criticism of refereeing and forced the President to make the announcement on Monday, reports Xinhua news agency.
The league initially said it would not comment on the missed call in Barcelona’s 1-1 draw at Real Betis on Sunday. But Tebas later said video refereeing will be implemented as soon as it wins full approval by the global football body, FIFA.
“We have always defended the use of technology in soccer and in this case we believe that video referees is the most advanced option,” Tebas said.
“The tests are already underway. I believe that beginning in July 2018, if FIFA approves it, we will start using it,” he added.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he was in favour of using technology to aid the officiating crews.
“The referees need help, whether it’s with cameras or whatever, for decisions that favour us or go against us. The technology can help us,” he said.
The video refereeing system was tested for the first time by FIFA in the World Club Championships in Japan last year.
[/alert]
Simeone opts for attacking line
Ahead of the first leg of the Copa del Rey football semi-finals against Barcelona on Wednesday, Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has decided to go with an attacking line by including Yannick Carrasco and Antoine Griezmann for the tie.
The lineup also includes Juanfran Torres as winger and Gabi Fernandez in midfield, reports Efe. First indicators show the possibility of three new shuffles in the lineup and some modification in positions. Changes include positioning Stefan Savic in the centre of the defence.
