BARCELONA: For weeks La Liga leaders Barcelona have been eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s Clasico as a chance to stretch the gap between themselves and rivals Real Madrid to a massive nine points.
Some turbulence in the final approach to the clash at Nou Camp has complicated the picture for Hansi Flick’s Spanish champions, who suffered their first defeat of the season at Paris St Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.
By contrast Real have won four consecutive matches, thrashing Leipzig on Wednesday, and starting to look, for the first time since Jose Mourinho’s arrival this summer, like a team.
Despite that, the equation remains favourable for Flick. With Raphinha fit again and teenage winger Lamine Yamal enjoying a state of grace, Barcelona will be confident of building on their six-point lead over third-placed Real.
A Clasico often proves a fork in the road.
Last season Real won the first meeting against Barcelona but Vinicius Junior’s outraged reaction at being substituted pulled apart the fragile seams of Xabi Alonso’s new era.
The Basque coach was ousted little over two months later, and his replacement Alvaro Arbeloa was unable to stop Real finishing a second straight season without winning a major trophy, while Barca retained the Spanish title at a canter.
On Sunday, Brazil international Vinicius is suspended.
Even aside from his underwhelming performances, his absence may help Real in terms of providing a clearer path for Mourinho.
“Vinicius’ four-match suspension was seen within Real more as a solution than a problem,” wrote Spanish daily AS.
Mourinho has largely deployed all of his team’s stars when available, despite the difficulty it poses in terms of a cohesive game plan and finding balance between attack and defence.
Record €140mil signing Yan Diomande offers more defensively and he is starting to hit his stride going forward, meaning the teenager may be Mourinho’s choice against Barca.
An alternative would be to add an extra midfielder to try and disrupt Flick’s free-flowing Barcelona, a strategy firmly within Mourinho’s wheelhouse, although PSG showed Barca are easier to beat by attacking.
Despite Real’s improving recent form, Mourinho insisted “confidence doesn’t exist” for Clasicos.
“It’s not a game like the others ... we’re losing 24 hours of rest (compared to Barcelona),” Mourinho complained on Wednesday.
Barcelona have their own problems regardless, including several injury concerns in defence. Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen are sidelined, while Jules Kounde is a doubt. Midfielder Dani Olmo is also out injured.
Furthermore, the Catalan giants shipped four goals against PSG and showed they are no closer to solving their vulnerability at the back, something which has persisted in the Flick era, partially caused by their high defensive line.
“We made too many mistakes, especially in ball possession, easy ball losses,” admitted Flick.
“This is what we have to analyse ... we have to understand the mistakes happen because (players) are not fresh.
“What they had to do the last couple of weeks is unbelievable.” — AFP
