Published On 15 Apr 2026<\/span>15 Apr 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Barcelona\u2019s dream of Champions League glory was dashed for a second successive season, but once again they will hope the bitter experience can cause their burgeoning young talent to deliver next term.<\/p>\n This faith in the youth brigade \u2013 spearheaded by teenager Lamine Yamal \u2013 is what they are left clinging to following Tuesday\u2019s quarterfinal exit at the hands of La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n It is a case of deja vu after last season\u2019s defeat by Inter Milan in the semifinals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s tough because everyone really believed that we could make it happen today,\u201d said Barca coach Hansi Flick following Tuesday\u2019s match, which Barcelona won 2-1 but went out 3-2 on aggregate.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will analyse everything. When something like that happens, players [must] make the next step. We have a young team, and they will improve.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day we have to learn more, we have to be better, and this is what we have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n He will be mindful, though, that some of the older hands are perhaps past their sell-by date.<\/p>\n Veteran striker Robert Lewandowski is out of contract in the summer, when he turns 38, while Barca have yet to decide if they will pay Manchester United to keep on-loan winger Marcus Rashford permanently.<\/p>\n Neither started in the Spanish capital, along with the injured Raphinha, who was unable to play in either leg.<\/p>\n Injuries have plagued the 29-year-old this season, raising concerns that Barca may have seen the best of him last year.<\/p>\n Ferran Torres, Ronald Araujo and on-loan defender Joao Cancelo\u2019s futures are also uncertain beyond the summer.<\/p>\n Although Barca\u2019s financial situation is no longer as worrying as it once was, the club cannot spend big on superstar reinforcements.<\/p>\n Despite their elimination last season, Barca swept the domestic treble, and a wave of optimism carried the club into the summer. Flick is looking for a similar reaction in La Liga.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t care when we win it, I want to win it, it doesn\u2019t matter what day,\u201d said Flick.<\/p>\n A repeat of the domestic sweep has been denied to them, as they exited the Copa del Rey at the hands of Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n While they will have to bide their time for a sixth Champions League crown, their first since 2015, retaining the league title looks a given as they are nine points clear of Real Madrid.<\/p>\n One area which Flick has been unable to improve on, despite making it a priority after the Inter loss, is defence.<\/p>\n Replacing veteran defender Inigo Martinez has proved problematic, to say the least.<\/p>\n In the first leg, youngster Pau Cubarsi, who benefitted from his former teammate\u2019s experience, was sent off for bringing down Giuliano Simeone when he was through on goal.<\/p>\n In the second leg, Eric Garcia was dismissed for a similar foul on Alexander Sorloth.<\/p>\n On both occasions, Flick\u2019s preferred high defensive line strategy was exploited by Atletico, as it was for Ademola Lookman\u2019s goal, which decided the tie on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Barcelona shipped 20 goals in 12 Champions League games this season and failed to keep a single clean sheet.<\/p>\n Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong insisted this was a team heading in the right direction.<\/p>\n Their starting lineup\u2019s average age was less than 25 years, and they possess arguably the most exciting young player in the world in 18-year-old Yamal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s never good to go out in the quarterfinals because we want to win it, but it doesn\u2019t mean we didn\u2019t play well or aren\u2019t on the correct path,\u201d said de Jong.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re growing every year. We have a young team, with a lot of talent and a lot of quality that can already compete for every competition.\u201d<\/p>\n Yamal, Pedri and Cubarsi will be back to lead the charge next year, only a year older, and Flick hopes they will be battle-hardened enough this time to go all the way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Published On 15 Apr 202615 Apr 2026 Barcelona\u2019s dream of Champions League glory was dashed for a second successive season, but once again they will hope the bitter experience can cause their burgeoning young talent to deliver next term. This faith in the youth brigade \u2013 spearheaded by teenager Lamine Yamal \u2013 is what they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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