Xavi: 'Real hurt because they lost to Barca three games in a row'
"I think they are hurt and want revenge because they lost the last three El Clasico games to us," Xavi said on April 4 in a pre-match press conference. "It will certainly be an aggressive Real, rising from the top. Real is a winning club with many top stars. It's definitely a tough game."
Of the four El Clasico matches played since the beginning of the season, Real won the first match with a score of 3-1 in La Liga in October 2022, but Barca won the next three matches in three competitions. Xavi's army beat Real 3-1 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, 1-0 in the semi-finals of the King's Cup and 2-1 in La Liga earlier this month.
If together with Barca win today, Xavi will help the Catalan club make history when they beat Real for the first time four times in a row in the same season. Barca defeated Real four times in the 1982-1983 season, but not in consecutive matches. Xavi also helped Barca win Real for the first time in four consecutive matches since a series of five matches under Pep Guardiola in 2008-2010, including a 6-2 victory at the Bernabeu and a 5-0 victory at the Camp Nou.
Xavi thinks that the three-match winning streak only adds to Barca's confidence, but Real is still appreciated. "We don't have a yardstick for Real," said the Spain coach. "They can easily come here and win. They can beat any team. How long has it been since Real lost both legs of a tournament?"
If the advantage is preserved against Real, Barca will continue to raise the ambition to win the treble. They will meet the winner of the Osasuna - Athletic pair in the final of the King's Cup, leading La Liga with a distance of 12 points and having won the Spanish Super Cup. "The match against Real was like a final," said Xavi. "This is our chance to get to the final and above all to beat our arch-rival. So it's worth twice as much."
Today, Barca is without four pillars including Frenkie de Jong, Ousmane Dembele, Pedri and Andreas Christensen because of injury. But Xavi said Barca will stick to the same approach as the final of the Spanish Super Cup or the victory over Real in La Liga earlier this month. According to the Spanish coach, these are two ideal matches for Barca.
When asked about the confrontation between Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema, the 43-year-old coach replied: "This is a difficult question, when we are talking about two of the three best strikers in the world. I think Lewandowski understands how to prepare. position Barca and maybe stronger physically. Benzema is everywhere, very talented and the destination of every ball."
