Barcelona beat arch-rivals Real Madrid to win the Copa del Rey at the weekend, which will provide extra motivation rather than being a distraction when they face Inter Milan in the Champions League semi-final, manager Hansi Flick said on Tuesday.
Flick's side, who top LaLiga, completed the first part of their treble bid in a dramatic extra-time 3-2 win on Saturday, and the manager was asked if he needs to curb the players' euphoria ahead of Wednesday's first leg at home to the Italians which will be live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player from 7.30pm.
"No, what I can see is that everyone is focused on this match, that everyone knows how important it is to be able to go to the Champions League final," Flick told reporters.
"Also this win against Real is very important for the positive vibes, and it could push you also. We know that we have to work hard to reach the final. It's a dream for everyone to be here, we have to stay focused.
"Inter have a team where some players are at an age where maybe it's the last opportunity to reach a final and they will give 100%."
After an enthralling 120 minutes against Real, Flick is waiting to see how his players react in training.
"We'll see tomorrow, today is not the day to speak about the starting 11, tomorrow we will see what happens and how they recover," Flick said.
"Also, Inter played on Sunday and they have less hours of recovery but it's a Champions League semi-final and everyone wants to give 100%."
Flick did confirm that Wojciech Szczesny will remain his first-choice keeper in the Champions League despite the return of long-term injury absentee Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Inter's treble bid ended last week when they exited the Coppa Italia semi-finals at the hands of AC Milan, and two consecutive league losses allowed Napoli to take top spot in Serie A and open up a gap of three points.
Flick, however, will not be changing his approach against a side who have lost three matches in a row.
"The Champions League is also for Inter a big chance to win a title, they are two matches away from the final, the same as we are," Flick said.
"It doesn't matter about the matches in the past. I don't think about that because it's not my job, I'm focused on my team."
Meanwhile, Inter manager Simone Inzaghi said his side's recent poor form does not erase the progress they have made over the last four years.
Inter dropped to second in Serie A last weekend following consecutive losses to Bologna and AS Roma either side of their defeat by rivals AC Milan in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final that ended their treble hopes.
"The last week does not erase the work done in four years," Inzaghi, in charge of Inter since 2021, told a press conference.
"In the last three games we had to do better, but after four years we are here competing for all the objectives, when someone had said that it would be difficult to get into the top four in Italy."
For Inter, who will compete in the Club World Cup after the season ends, the tie against Barcelona provides an opportunity to forget last week's woes.
"We come from a bad week, but we can do and we have to do better," Inzaghi said.
"We're excited about the game we're going to play tomorrow against probably the best team in the world, the most offensive, the team that scores the most goals.
"We need to have the ability to play with sacrifice if we have to. We will have to be very clean technically, we need a lot of components to beat such a strong opponent...
"They have incredible numbers and have won two titles, competing for two more. We have maximum respect, but no fear... We want to play a semi-final like a real Inter tomorrow."
Striker Marcus Thuram, Inter's top scorer in Serie A with 14 goals, has returned from injury for the Italian champions, although the manager did not confirm whether the Frenchman would play.
"Thuram had his first training session today with the team," Inzaghi said.
"We haven't seen him since (the second leg against) Bayern Munich. He did a good job and gave good signals but I have to evaluate tomorrow morning and I'll talk to him again.
"The others apart from (defender Benjamin) Pavard are all there."
Pavard was forced off after 15 minutes of their clash against Roma with an ankle issue.
Watch the Champions League semi-final, Barcelona v Inter Milan, on Wednesday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
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