Diego Simeone wary of 'the best Barcelona side in recent times'

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has revealed that he believes the current Barcelona team to be the best he has seen in recent times.

The two clubs square up against each other this week in the Copa del Rey, with the Atleti coach also urging his side to play with intensity against Luis Enrique's men.

"We must start the game better because the start was not good [in the league game]," Simeone said ahead of the tie, according to Goal.com.

"We have to play with the intensity and pressure that we usually do. Against a team like Barcelona, who did very well in the first half-an-hour, we had complications.

"We face a great opponent. We are facing the best Barcelona in recent times. It is clear that 90 minutes will be very hard and every minute spent on the game will be of significance for the second leg. The key is how to work out how and where to attack. If we can bring the game to where we want to attack, we will have options. We need to understand how to attack a team like Barcelona and, if we understand, we will have options."

The sides' first-leg quarter-final clash takes place on Wednesday at Camp Nou.