Barcelona midfielder says focus is on Panathinaikos, Real Madrid come later
Barcelona star Sergio Busquets claims that he and his team-mates have put the upcoming El Clasico fixture against Real Madrid to the back of their minds to fully focus on their UEFA Champions League group
stage match against Greek champions Panathinaikos on Wednesday 24 November.
A win for Barca will ensure their progression to the next stage of the competition regardless of Copenhagen's result against Russian outfit Rubin Kazan in the other Group D game held on the same day.
While the El Clasico game on Monday 29 November will likely have a large bearing on the La Liga title race, Busquets claimed that the Champions League encounter was all Barca were focusing on.
He also highlighted the importance of finishing at the top of their group as to avoid playing the likes of Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the first knockout stage as Barca aim to emulate their 2009 success
in the competition.
Busquets told reporters: “We are well experienced in the Champions League as we have faced Panathinaikos before many times and have respect for them. We will not turn our attention to El Clasico. We have
not beaten them (in Athens) before and this must be taken into account.
“We play for three important points to allow us to finish top of our group. After this game, then we will talk of Real Madrid. I hope our best form is yet to come, but we have to prove it game by game.”
Barca are currently sitting at the top of their qualifying group, having claimed eight points from their previous four games. Danish champions Copenhagen are just one point behind, while Rubin have three
points and Panathinaikos have two.
All four sides still have a chance to progress into the last 16 of the competition.
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