‘We want more’, says Dani Olmo, with Barcelona bound for Champions League knockouts
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Barcelona's Dani Olmo fighting for the ball with Borussia Dortmund's Giovanni Reyna and Nico Schlotterbeck.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
DORTMUND – Barcelona midfielder Dani Olmo said his team “want more” after locking up progress to the Champions League play-offs with a 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund on Dec 11.
Barcelona went ahead twice, first through Raphinha and then through Ferran Torres, but Serhou Guirassy struck back to level on both occasions.
Torres then scored the winner with five minutes remaining.
The victory means Barcelona, who now sit in outright second behind Liverpool with 15 points, successfully made it through the league phase of the new format.
Olmo, who laid on an assist in his return to Germany where he spent more than four years at RB Leipzig, called on his side to “keep this mentality, this focus”.
“We want to win every game. Of course 15 points is a good amount, but we want more,” the Spaniard said.
Raphinha opened the scoring for Barcelona on 53 minutes, benefiting from an Olmo pass on the counter, but Guirassy equalised seven minutes later from the penalty spot.
Torres, who replaced the ineffective former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski, tapped in a rebound with 15 minutes to play only for Guinea forward Guirassy to again haul Dortmund level.
With the hosts pushing for a first-ever victory over Barcelona, Lamine Yamal fed Torres on a fast break and the winger drilled the ball past Gregor Kobel.
Olmo also said that he, Lewandowski and coach Hansi Flick spoke to the squad about what to expect at the Westfalenstadion, which he called “one of the temples of football”.
“Dortmund are a team who push you to the limit always,” he said. “It was a really good atmosphere to play against, so I enjoyed it to be back in Germany.”
Former Bayern Munich coach Flick said the first half was “one of the best we’ve played” since he arrived in the summer.
“It’s very special to win here. We knew that whoever wins here would take a massive step towards qualification. It was our goal and we pushed for that,” the German said.
But he put the brakes on expectations, saying there was “a long way to go” for the five-time Champions League winners in the new format.
“Our aim is to get into the top eight first. I think that if we manage that, then we will have achieved a lot, but the journey is still far from over,” Flick insisted.
“That’s why we’ll be looking from game to game. I think we’re doing really well with that.” AFP, REUTERS
