Ronald Koeman they praised Barcelona’s mentality as they completed a remarkable comeback against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey semifinals.
After Ousmane Dembele halved Sevillaaggregate lead, Gerard Piquethe header forced the extension of time and allowed Martin Braithwaite to score the decisive goal.
“I always believed” Koeman he said full time. “I never gave up the Copa. It’s a matter of mentality.
“As a coach, I can’t ask my team to do more than I saw tonight. I fought to overtime and it’s incredible. I’m very happy with the work of the team tonight.
“We deserved to get through. I think we were better on both legs. We were the best team.”
The victory in the second round comes just four days after a 2-0 victory over Sevilla in LaLiga Santander, where they also played a 3-5-2 formation.
“It was very important for our confidence,” Koeman said about the victory in Seville.
“The way we played there. It was our first game [with 3-5-2]. We tried to play the same game today and we succeeded.
“We managed to score three goals and we could have scored more. You can’t ask for more.”