Xavi is on the verge of main Barcelona again to the Copa del Rey closing and repeating a feat final achieved when Pep Guardiola was in cost greater than a decade in the past.
Barcelona, the 2021 champion eradicated within the spherical of 16 final yr, can return to the ultimate with only a draw in opposition to Real Madrid on the Camp Nou on Wednesday however a win would make it 4 straight triumphs over its rival for the primary time since Guardiola received 5 in a row from 2008-10.
The Catalan membership has by no means defeated Madrid 4 occasions in a row in the identical season. It beat Madrid 4 occasions in 1982-83 however not in consecutive matches.
Barcelona misplaced 3-1 to Madrid within the first “clasico” of the season within the Spanish league, however since then it received 3-1 within the Spanish Super Cup closing, 1-0 within the first leg of the Copa semifinal and 2-1 within the different league match.
“I think they are hurt and will be wanting to get revenge after losing the last three games,” Xavi stated Tuesday. “But they always compete well.”
The final time Barcelona had received three in a row was in 2011-12. Madrid received 5 consecutive in opposition to its rival in a interval from 2020-22. Guardiola’s profitable run included a 6-2 rout on the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and a 5-0 triumph on the Camp Nou.
Barcelona’s most up-to-date league win in opposition to Madrid left the membership near its first league title since 2018-19. It has a cushty 12-point lead over Madrid with 11 matches remaining.
“The clasico is the most important match, for the fans, for the players,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti stated. “There is a very big rivalry and this is an important competition. We need to play a complete match because things didn’t go well in the last ones.”
After profitable the Spanish Super Cup, advancing to the Copa closing would give Xavi an opportunity to steer Barcelona to its second title of the season. It would come after a depressing interval through which it struggled amid a monetary disaster that led to the departure of Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain.
Ancelotti can also be hoping to maintain alive Madrid’s possibilities of profitable one other trophy along with the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA’s Club World Cup. Madrid can also be alive within the Champions League, the place it faces Chelsea within the quarterfinals.
Madrid hasn’t received the Copa since 2014, when it beat Barcelona the final time it made it to the ultimate. Barcelona is the competitors’s most profitable membership with 31 trophies. Its triumph two years in the past marked the staff’s final title with Messi within the squad.
Barcelona has succeeded within the latest “clasicos” below Xavi with a formation that features 4 midfielders and Gavi in a extra superior place. The coach may additionally choose to make use of three forwards, with Ansu Fati or Ferran Torres taking part in up entrance together with Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski. Franck Kessié, who scored the late winner within the final league “clasico,” would drop from the lineup in that situation.
Xavi nonetheless received’t have the ability to depend on 4 necessary gamers due to accidents — Ousmane Dembélé, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen.
Ancelotti may have all of his common starters obtainable except for injured left again Ferland Mendy.
Karim Benzema is coming off a hat trick within the staff’s 6-0 rout of Valladolid within the Spanish league, and the French striker is among the many Madrid veterans who’re ending their contracts this season and might be making their final look within the “clasico,” together with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.
Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets, the participant with a file of 47 appearances within the “clasico,” is in the same scenario as his contract with the Catalan membership additionally expires this season.
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
