Having spent six seasons at Real Madrid from 2009 to 2015, Xabi Alonso is no stranger to El Clasico, but Sunday’s edition will be very different.
For the first time ever, Alonso will take on Barcelona as a manager. The legendary Spain midfielder’s Real team heads into Sunday’s match two points clear of their eternal rivals at the top of the table. Coming off of a hard-fought Champions League win over Juventus midweek, Alonso feels like his team is rounding into form. While he acknowledges the importance of such a storied match, he’s reluctant classify it as crucial to Los Blancos’ season.
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“We understand the significance of Sunday’s game, but we’re not going to read too much into it,” Alonso said. “We know it’s hugely important and we’ll treat it as such. It’s too early to be decisive in the league, but of course, it has an impact in the moment. It’s a red-letter day on the calendar, for sure.”
With Real having dealt with significant injuries for much of the early going this season, Alonso will be buoyed by midfielder Jude Bellingham’s performance in the victory against the Bianconeri. After undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, the England midfielder made his return to action in late September and had not looked his best in the six matches he played in prior to this week. Scoring the only goal of the match in the Juve win, Bellingham looks to have turned a corner.
“He’s got the ability to be involved in building the play, and the determination to get to the end of things, too,” Alonso said of Bellingham. “He covers a lot of ground and he’s so versatile. He knows how to break from the second line and he’s got that hunger to score goals. He’s one of the most complete players in world football and I’m fortunate to have him here. I ask him to take on a key role and get involved in the game. He’s hungry to win, to score goals and to improve.”
As a team, Real must improve from the form they displayed last season against Barca where they were absolutely battered, losing all four contests across all competitions (the two league matches, a Copa del Rey meeting and the Supercopa) and were outscored, 16-7. Should Barca win on Sunday, it will be only the second time they’ve beaten Real on five straight occasions.
“Last year was incredible, but we are now faced with a different situation,” Barca manager Hansi Flick said of Sunday’s match. “I am positive and I think we can win in Madrid. We have a good team and we may have a player back.”
The player in question is likely Denmark defender Andreas Christensen, who missed the Blaugrana’s 6-1 thrashing of Olympiacos in the Champions League midweek, but Raphinha is set to miss out. The Brazil winger is ruled out with a hamstring injury. He joins Robert Lewandowski (muscular) and Dani Olmo (undisclosed) as attacking talent unavailable for the match. Lamine Yamal is also dealing with a persistent groin injury.
Light on firepower, Marcus Rashford could see action in his first El Clasico. The England forward, on loan from Manchester United, looks revitalized in Spain. The 27-year-old Rashford is coming off of a two-goal performance in the Champions League win.
“People forget this, but 23 years of my life was with Manchester United,” Rashford said. “So sometimes you just need a change. I think maybe this is the case with me and I’m enjoying everything.”
Despite both teams feeling good about their form heading into the match, some believe that when it comes to the meetings between these two Spanish giants, you can toss form right out the window.
“In a Clásico, it doesn’t really matter how either team arrives,” Pedri said. ”What you’ve done in previous games counts for little.”
Still, the 22-year-old Spain midfielder says his team can take lessons from their dominance of Real last season.
“I think last season we were incredible,” Pedri said of the four matches. “We have to get back to that level. There’s always room for improvement, but we should remember that last year we managed to win all the Clásicos, and hopefully we can do the same this year.”
For Pedri’s teammate Ronald Araujo, the key to victory is staying out of your own head.
“It’s a beautiful and important match, and that’s why there’s always a bit of anxiety,” the Uruguay defender said. “But in the Clásicos where we’ve enjoyed ourselves, things have gone well. And that’s what we have to do.”
And, perhaps, Barca might need to be a little more self-reliant than usual with Flick not in the dugout. The German gaffer was sent off late in Barcelona’s 2-1 over Girona last weekend. Barca appealed, but the suspension was upheld and now Flick is banned from the bench on Sunday. That could hand the managerial edge to Alonso, somebody with whom Pedri is looking forward to compete.
“They try to keep much more possession now and, as always, they’re very dangerous up front,” Pedri said of Real under Alonso. “We’ll try to dominate and control the game.”
When it comes to Clasicos, there is always pressure on both sides, but perhaps the heat is a little hotter in Madrid. Yes, Los Blancos are at the top of the table, yet there’s a sense that every time the team has faced a true test under Alonso in his short time at the helm of the club, they’ve failed. In last summer’s Club World Cup, Real was crushed by Paris Saint-Germain, 4-0, in the semis. Then in last month’s Madrid derby, Real was played off of the pitch by Atletico in a 5-2 loss.
Sunday’s game will be a chance for Alonso’s side to make a statement and home-field advantage could be key.
“They are really important, especially when you’re playing at home, with a great atmosphere,” Real No. 1 Thibaut Courtois said of the fans. “They can push us on and when we’re doing well, putting pressure on the opposition, they help even more. It feels like an avalanche. At the Bernabéu, you feel the fans are very close to the pitch and that helps. Even in difficult moments, they support us, they get behind the team and that helps us to defend together. At the end of the day, the stadium has to be a cauldron and that’s very important.”
Sunday’s match will be the 262nd edition of El Clasico and things couldn’t be tighter. Real has the historic edge, but only by a single victory at 105 to 104. There have also been 52 draws played between them.
You can also expect goals. A 0-0 draw on Dec. 18, 2019 at Camp Nou was the last scoreless draw played between Real and Barcelona. In the 14 games since, there have been 49 goals scored.