Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola has analysed El Clasico in two ways. Firstly, Real Madrid are favourites to win tonight, he says. Secondly, Barca must beat them if they want to win La Liga.
Barcelona are 8 points clear at the top of the Primera Division in Spain with 84 points from a possible 93. Many pundits have tipped the Catalans to retain their domestic crown even if they lose to Real Madrid tonight.
However, Pep Guardiola has underlined the imperative importance of winning El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. In a pre-match interview with Marca, the Barca coach issue statements which revealed his typical cautious approach ahead of each match. They went as follows:
“I always have a lot of respect for Real Madrid. This Madrid side is better than the one we last played. I think they start as favourites.
“If we lose at the Santiago Bernabeu, there will still be a long way to go in La Liga. But to win the title, we have to win at the Bernabeu.”
Pep Guardiola also put Real Madrid’s players above Barca’s in terms of strengths and technique. He added:
“Real Madrid’s players shoot more than ours. They also jump higher, they are quicker as well as stronger than ours.
“In three touches, they’ve already reached the goal area. I’ve never seen that. As for us, we need to move the ball from Valdes to create a chance. But they [Real Madrid] need just three seconds to do so.”
Does Pep Guardiola fear a fiasco in El Clasico? Is the Barcelona manager just playing mind games, instead?
However, Pep Guardiola has underlined the imperative importance of winning El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. In a pre-match interview with Marca, the Barca coach issue statements which revealed his typical cautious approach ahead of each match. They went as follows:
“I always have a lot of respect for Real Madrid. This Madrid side is better than the one we last played. I think they start as favourites.
“If we lose at the Santiago Bernabeu, there will still be a long way to go in La Liga. But to win the title, we have to win at the Bernabeu.”
Pep Guardiola also put Real Madrid’s players above Barca’s in terms of strengths and technique. He added:
“Real Madrid’s players shoot more than ours. They also jump higher, they are quicker as well as stronger than ours.
“In three touches, they’ve already reached the goal area. I’ve never seen that. As for us, we need to move the ball from Valdes to create a chance. But they [Real Madrid] need just three seconds to do so.”
Does Pep Guardiola fear a fiasco in El Clasico? Is the Barcelona manager just playing mind games, instead?
