Hansi Flick wants strong Barcelona reaction in Catalan derby after Atletico thrashing

Barca head into this match on the back of a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in their Copa del Rey semi-final first leg encounter at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano last Thursday.

However, Barca have an opportunity to reclaim top spot on the LaLiga table from arch-rivals Real Madrid when they face 15th placed Girona, who are winless in their last three league matches.

"Girona are a well-organised team, brave, who play out from the back well. We will have to be very intense," said Flick to the press ahead of the match.

"We lost on Thursday [vs Atletico] and it was a lesson, but life goes on. You have to accept the defeat and have confidence. We have a lot of quality to get over it.

"You can lose, but how you react is important. And I want to see the reaction tomorrow."

The German mentor also confirmed that England international forward Marcus Rashford will not be available for the Catalan derby at Girona, but Brazilian star and captain Raphinha is fit to play after missing the last three matches due to a hamstring strain. 

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