Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has hailed the job done by Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid ahead of their weekend clash.
The pair face off in Catalonia in a crunch end of year game with Flick’s charges only leading Los Rojiblancos by goal difference at the top of the table.
Their respective form streaks are the polar opposite of each other with Barcelona winning just one of their last six league games, and Atletico on an 11-match winning streak in all competitions.
Flick will again be absent from the Barcelona bench, as he serves the second game of a two-match ban, but he will be admiring Simeone from afar tomorrow night.
Diego Simeone
“To be on this winning streak is incredible. They’re doing a great job and I respect them a lot. I love Simeone’s personality and his emotion,” as per reports from Mundo Deportivo.
“You can see the team is just like him. But it doesn’t change anything, we want to win tomorrow.”
The two managers have never faced each other before with Simeone’s six games against Bayern Munich coming before Flick’s arrival in 2019.
Barcelona have an outstanding home record against Atletico Madrid in La Liga, unbeaten in their last 18 meetings, with an away win last coming in 2006.