Diego Simeone wary of wounded Barcelona despite Atletico's healthy Copa del Rey lead

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/atl-madrid/jaarqpLQ/"]Atletico[/a]'s ‌first-half blitz stunned [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] last month, and the ‌Catalan side failed to score in a domestic ‌match for the first time this season to leave their opponents on the verge of reaching their ‌first Copa del Rey final ⁠since 2012/13.[/p][p]"[b]We're thinking ‌about the match ahead of us, against a very ​good opponent, who are attacking, open and play as a team, making them one ​of the most competitive sides in LaLiga and in Europe[/b]," Simeone told reporters on Monday.[/p][p]LaLiga ⁠leaders Barcelona, who ​beat Atletico 3-1 in the league in December, have netted seven goals in their last two matches, with Lamine [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lamine-yamal/lAt3vEub/"]Yamal[/a] scoring a hat-trick ‌against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/villarreal/lUatW5jE/"]Villarreal[/a] on Saturday.[/p][embed guid="cc950e42-1743-4e49-83bb-78ca0802dcc3" url="https://x.com/atletienglish/status/2028443998788940103" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b](Yamal) is a very good individual player, particularly dangerous in the final stages of the game... we have to put him where he feels most uncomfortable, which is defending[/b]," Simeone said.[/p][p]Atletico are third in LaLiga, 13 points below Barcelona, with 12 games left. They have also reached the Champions League ‌round of 16 and will face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tottenham/UDg08Ohm/"]Tottenham Hotspur[/a].[/p][p]Simeone ​said he was happy to be fighting ‌for multiple trophies going into the final three months of the season.[/p][p]"[b]In summer, you always think, I wish we could compete for everything. Now we're in a fantastic ⁠position, fighting for ⁠what we want[/b]," he ‌said.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/atl-madrid-jaarqpLQ/barcelona-SKbpVP5K/?mid=EN3sJIfk"]Follow the second-leg clash with Flashscore![/a][/b][/p]