La Liga El Clasico at the Camp Nou takes place over the coming weekend but the Argentine player wants La Blaugrana to focus on their midweek fixture against Chelsea.
The coming week is ‘make or break’ for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604’s end of season objectives. Pep Guardiola’s men travel to the Stamford Bridge for their UEFA Champions League semi-final fixture against Chelsea in midweek and welcome Real Madrid at the Camp Nou over the
weekend.
After struggling throughout the season with injuries to key players, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 led Barcelona remain in contention to defend their European and Spanish crowns, and everything rests on their upcoming couple of fixtures.
With players from Catalan side coming in the media and giving opinions on the upcoming El Clasico against Real Madrid, holding midfielder, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Javier-Mascherano-c18071, had words of wisdom for his teammates.
The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 player advised La Blaugrana players to approach one match after the other, especially concentrating on their Champions League fixture against Chelsea.
He stated that they cannot ignore the English outfit with El Clasico looming over the corner as they have an excellent opportunity to book their place in the Allianz Arena-hosted final.
"The main thing right now is Wednesday’s match. Afterwards, we’ll think about the league and Real Madrid," Mascherano told reporters.
"We’re in a Champions League semi-final and we have a great opportunity to reach the final. It would be a really big mistake to focus on Real Madrid first, because Wednesday’s match is very difficult and will go a long way to deciding the tie.”
Mascherano added that he expects a tough fixture against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786, who have strung together impressive wins since the ousting of Andres Villas Boas from the bench.
Continuing on the topic, the diminutive midfielder stated that he hopes to get a positive first leg result on Wednesday.
"It’ll be a really difficult tie that will depend a lot on getting a good result in the first leg against a team that has always been characterised by their tremendous physical strength, and which has some really experienced players."
The first leg in the English capital is scheduled for April 18, 2012.
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