Hansi Flick poked fun at Real Madrid ahead of Barcelona's clash with Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final on Thursday. The German's dig at Los Blancos came back to haunt him after his side were thrashed by Diego Simeone's men.
A 4-0 loss to Atleti put a major dent in Barca's season given they came into the match top of La Liga and on a six-match winning streak across competitions. Eric Garcia's hilarious own goal (6'), Antoine Griezmann (14'), Ademola Lookman (33') and Julian Alvarez (45+2') were all on target in a chaotic first half.
Flick's side will have to try and turn the tie around when they host Simeone's troops in the second leg on March 3rd. But his comments prior to the thrashing endured at the Metropolitano make for interesting reading now.
Real Madrid fans get the last laugh at Flick
Barca avoided La Liga opposition on their path to the semi-finals and the Catalans beat Segunda Division outfit Albacete 2-1 in the quarter-finals. This was the same side that shocked Madrid with a 3-2 win in the last 16.
Flick was asked about the lack of top-flight opponents that the Blaugrana have come up against during their Copa del Rey campaign. He responded: "Ask Real Madrid."
The German's mockery of Madrid's struggle against second-tier opposition came back to bite him. While his Barca team didn't lose to a non-La Liga outfit they were heavily beaten against an Atleti side that Los Blancos beat 2-1 in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals last month.
It was a night to forget for Flick who was tactically outclassed by Simeone. His defense looked extremely vulnerable and that will give Los Merengues optimism in the La Liga title race.
Flick should focus on Barcelona
Flick might now realise he is better off focusing on his own team rather than taking aim at their El Clasico rivals. They travel to Girona next Monday (February 16th) and Alvaro Arbeloa's Los Merengues might have overtaken them in the La Liga title race before that game.
Madrid are in action on Saturday when they host Real Sociedad at the Estadio Bernabeu. Just a point seperates the two title challengers heading into the weekend.
The next time the rivals play one another is on May 10th and given how tightly poised the title race is it could be the game that decides who becomes champions. But before that the Blaugrana will be tasked with trying to achieve one of the most astonishing comebacks in Copa del Rey history.