On the strength of the opposition, Flick commented: “Atlético are a very tough side. They have a great mentality, intensity and fantastic players. In the last match they rested several players, but others who came on are of the highest quality. It’s not easy to score two goals against Atlético; it’s always complicated. There will be a lot of emotion in both matches. We’ll try to get a good result tomorrow, knowing that we have to play away. When we beat Newcastle, we deserved it and we want to keep pushing towards our goal.”
Asked how he would deal with players facing suspension, the German manager said: “I don’t accept any excuses. The only thing to do is focus on what we want to achieve on the pitch. I don’t want to focus on other things, but on what’s in our hands. They also have players facing suspension and the situation is the same for us.”
On the team’s desire to secure a big result ahead of the second leg, Flick said: “We have our style and we must stick to it. We must press and find the spaces. The important thing is to be focused from the start for these two matches against Atlético. Everyone wants to play in the Champions League and we have the chance to reach the semi-finals – that is our goal.”