‘We want more’, says Olmo with Barca bound for CL knock-outs

Barcelona midfielder Dani Olmo said his team “want more” after locking up progress through the league phase with a 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

Barcelona went ahead twice, the first time through Raphinha and the second through Ferran Torres, but Serhou Guirassy struck back to level on both occasions.

Torres scored the winner with five minutes remaining, with Barcelona going the length of the field from a Dortmund corner to seal the win.

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 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,” he said.

The 26-year-old said he and former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski and one-time Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick spoke to the squad about what to expect at the Westfalenstadion, which he called “one of the temples of football”.

“It was a really good atmosphere to play against so I enjoyed it to be back in Germany.”

Flick told reporters 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.

The coach 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.

“That’s why we’ll be looking from game to game. I think we’re doing really well with that.”

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola admitted that he is questioning himself as his Manchester City team slumped to yet another defeat at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.

City fell 2-0 in a freezing Turin, their seventh defeat in 10 matches in all competitions putting their qualification for the last 16 at risk.

Asked by reporters whether he was questioning his management, Guardiola replied: “Yeah, of course.”

“Of course I question myself in the good moments and the bad moments,” said Guardiola.

“I was stable in the good moments and I’m stable in the bad moments... My biggest challenge is when they give me the opportunity to be a manager and get results to continue to work.

“If I would miss the big challenge in the first season, the second season, I wouldn’t be here.”

English champions City are just one point above the bottom 12 places which bring elimination from the Champions League.

Five points separate City from the top eight places and automatic qualification for the last 16, with matches against Paris Saint-Germain and Club Brugge remaining in their league phase campaign.

City face local rivals Manchester United on Sunday in the Premier League, where Guardiola’s team trail leaders Liverpool by eight points.

Elsewhere, Mikel Arteta praised Bukayo Saka’s “incredible talent” after the Arsenal forward’s double inspired a 3-0 win over Monaco that moved his side closer to the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.

Saka struck late in each half at the Emirates Stadium before Kai Havertz wrapped up Arsenal’s fourth win in six games in the revamped league phase of Europe’s elite club competition.

The Gunners sit third in the table with two games remaining as they chase automatic qualification for the last 16 via a top-eight finish.

With matches against Dinamo Zagreb and Girona to come in January that should be a simple task for Arsenal.

But if Arteta’s team are to win the Champions League for the first time, they will need England star Saka to maintain his superb form.

The 23-year-old has five goals in his last six games in all competitions and nine for the season, as well as a hatful of assists.

Even those impressive statistics don’t do justice to Saka’s influence on Arsenal.

Arteta knows better than anyone just how much Saka has developed since the Spaniard took charge in 2019.

Agencies