Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola tips Real Madrid to win El Clasico in the La Liga battle
Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola, has tagged Real Madrid as favourites to win the El Clasico encounter at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, April 16, 2011.
Barcelona and Real Madrid will face each other four times in space of three weeks. After the La Liga encounter between the two sides, the fierce rivals will lock horns in the final of the Copa del Rey, followed by the two legs of UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Despite thrashing Los Blancos 5-0 in the reverse fixture at Camp Nou earlier this season, Guardiola has shown respect towards their opponents and believes that Jose Mourinho’s men are hard to beat in their own backyard.
Talking to the reporters, Guardiola said:
“I have always thought very highly of Madrid. This Madrid is better than the one we played before. They start as favourites. If we lose at the Bernabeu, there is a long way to go in the league [but] to win the league we have to win at the Bernabeu.”
Guardiola has warned his team to be wary of Madrid’s strengths, as they are in a good run of form.
"The Madrid players shoot more, jump higher and are quicker and stronger than ours. I have never seen a team that plays in space like theirs - in three touches they have already reached the goal. We need to move the ball from [goalkeeper] Victor Valdes to
create a chance, they need three seconds.”
The Catalan boss is worried about the defensive crisis his team is facing but has welcomed veteran centre-back http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Carles-Puyol-c8331 back in the team. Puyol played full 90 minutes in a reserves match and finished the game unscathed. However, Guardiola revealed that
he will assess Puyol’s situation before the match.
The 40-year-old conceded the fact that Barcelona have the advantage in midfield battle and believes that Madrid are equally good in the centre of the pitch. The Spaniard praised Madrid’s midfield duo, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Xabi-Alonso-c37045 and Mesut Ozil, and believes that the duo
cover every blade of grass on the pitch and are pivotal behind Madrid’s success.
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