Whatever happens, 'Carpe diem': the latest news from Barça - Atlético de Madrid

BarcelonaDraw in extremis Atlético de Madrid's victory at Montjuïc on a crazy Copa del Rey night at Montjuïc (4-4). Sorloth, once again, silenced the culerada at the last moment. Here are some notes on the subject.

The most beloved sexagenarian in Catalonia. Simeone said before the match that Flick is the "maximum strength" of the current Barça. Such a forceful statement is partly due to Xavi, the German's predecessor, with whom Cholo had some dialectical confrontations. But we cannot fool ourselves: the Barça coach (and not the composition of the squad, practically the same as last season) is responsible for a team that had a tendency to give up now being able to turn around a 0-2 against a great team like Atlético. At 60 years old, he makes the age of his players, from Szczęsny's 34 to Lamine Yamal's 17, the prime of their lives. It's a shame he didn't get the changes right.

Carpe we say. Until I wrote it, I hadn't realised: Lamine Yamal is half the age of Szczęsny. That said, who knows how and when the Rocafonda prodigy will retire. Whether it will be Neymar, Messi or both at the same time. Whether he will win two or three Champions Leagues or one or two Ballon d'Ors. It's tempting to imagine him in two or three years, with a fuller beard, a driving licence and more kilometres on his legs. But his situation has reached a point where it's better to enjoy the moment and stop projecting. What he does in each game is so surreal given his age that it's enough to tie up your bib and pinch yourself. Where grandpa Flick puts the bread, lad Lamine puts the cheese. Lewandowski scores and the cameras focus on him. Crack.

The couple of the year. Because of his position on the pitch and the level of spectacularity of his repertoire, Cubarsí will appear on fewer front pages than Lamine Yamal, but his emergence deserves all the notes in the world. The player from Estanyol is a colossal centre-back. He has a crazy way of getting the ball out, he uses his body as if he were 30 years old, he doesn't flinch in any duel, he scores goals from corners... And if he can't finish, he blocks markings so that his teammates can do it. It's curious that Barça, before losing the lead in a cursed stoppage time, defeated Atlético with two goals so similar from Cubarsí and Iñigo. Young and veteran, they are the pair of the year. It's normal that Araujo is thinking about packing his bags.

Lots of candy and a little piece of coal. The 4-4 result is the worst of a great night for Barça in which Pedri, as usual, gave a master class on what a midfielder should do. Not only did he score the first goal, but he also gave out sweets, accelerated and braked for the benefit of the team, got ahead of the opponent to steal the ball... The successes of this season depend on his magic wand, his calm in any situation. It is no coincidence that Atlético de Madrid, who reached the final stretch of the match with encouragement thanks to the lack of success of Ferran Torres and the lost back of Kounde, made blood from the Canary Islander's exit in the last minutes.