Xavi
Xavi Hernandez has urged Barcelona to be ‘brave’ and ‘have personality’ if they are to beat Real Madrid in El Clasico on Thursday.
Barcelona face off against arch rivals Real in the Copa del Rey semi-final at Santiago Bernabeu, with both teams heading into the game in inconsistent form.
Los Blancos followed up an extremely impressive 5-2 win over Liverpool with a dull 1-1 draw with ten-man Atletico Madrid at the weekend, while Barca ended a run of eight straight La Liga wins with a shock defeat to Almeria on Sunday.
Speaking to the press ahead of El Clasico, Xavi explained what his team need to do in order to beat European champions Real Madrid.
“We have to be more of a team than ever,” he said.
“We have to be brave, have personality, minimise loss of possession because they have great transition players like [Federico] Valverde and Vinicius [Junior]. We have to try to control it.”
The Barca manager was also keen to insist that Real Madrid should be considered favourites for the semi-final clash.
“My argument is that Madrid have won both the league and the Champions League,” he explained. “And we have beaten them in the Super Cup, but it is Madrid.
“I think Madrid is favourite, I have to be honest. But I also believe that we can hurt them. I envision a very even tie.”