Eric García's brutal honesty: 'They outclassed us in everything'
Barcelona defender Eric García didn't mince words after their Copa del Rey defeat to Atlético Madrid, admitting his side were thoroughly outplayed in the first half.
Barcelona defender Eric García pulled no punches after his side’s Copa del Rey defeat, admitting they were comprehensively outplayed by Atlético Madrid in the first half.
Red card and a reality check
García, who was given his marching orders late in the match with a straight red, delivered a brutally honest assessment of Barcelona’s performance. The centre-back was in no mood to sugar-coat what was a proper spanking in the first 45 minutes.
The defender’s candid admission that Atleti “outclassed them in everything: intensity, desire, attitude” tells you everything about the state of play at the Metropolitano. It was men against boys for large stretches, with Barcelona looking completely off the pace.
Second half improvements
To their credit, Barcelona showed more bottle after the break, with García noting that their second-half display was “what we should have done from the beginning.” Classic case of too little, too late, though.
When questioned about whether Atlético’s lighter fixture schedule might have played a part, García wasn’t having any of it:
“That’s not an excuse for them coming out more motivated. They simply steamrollered us in the first half.”
Belief in the comeback
Despite the defeat and his dismissal, García remains convinced Barcelona can turn the tie around at the Camp Nou on March 3rd. The defender is “100 percent certain” they can level the score and progress to the next round.
“We have 90 minutes at home, with our fans, with the team we have and the players we’ll recover. I have no doubts we can turn this around,” García insisted.
He also had a message for the Barça faithful: “We’ll give everything. It was a match with very high emotions. We know they’ll make it difficult for us, but if we stick together, we can do it.”
My take
Fair play to Eric for fronting up after that disaster class in the first half. Barcelona were absolutely miles off it, looking like they’d left their brains in the changing room. The comeback talk is all well and good, but they’ll need to be a damn sight better at the Camp Nou if they’re going to have any chance of overturning this result.
The sending off won’t help matters either - losing an experienced defender for the return leg is the last thing they needed. Barcelona’s season is starting to look like a right dog’s dinner, and Xavi’s got his work cut out to turn this ship around.