“They’re one of the best teams in the world” - Barcelona star heaps praised on rivals Real Madrid ahead of El Classico clash
Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong has heaped praise on Real Madrid ahead of El Clasico on Saturday, October 26, calling them one of the best teams in the world. He is also looking forward to the crucial game that could play a big part in the LaLiga race this term.
De Jong was in conversation with beIN SPORTS about the upcoming El Clasico when he praised Barca's arch-rivals. He said:
"I think Clasico matches are always exciting, but they're even more thrilling when we're close to each other and fighting for first place. I think Madrid are a fantastic team. They're one of the best teams in the world. They have very good players as a team. We're also a fantastic team. We're doing well. So, I think the match will be really exciting."
When asked if the players needed extra motivation for the match, he added:
"No, the motivation is always there to win against Madrid. I don't think this gives extra motivation. The motivation will always be there. Of course, we want to keep the record and we want to win, but even if the record didn't exist, we would want to win."
Barcelona are currently leading the LaLiga table and can extend their lead with a win this weekend. Real Madrid, currently second, need a victory to go level on points with the Catalan side.
Frenkie de Jong highlights what Barcelona must do against Real Madrid
Frenkie de Jong admitted that Barcelona needed to be at their best against Real Madrid to get a positive result. He added that they needed focus for the whole 90 minutes and could not afford to relax during the match. He said:
"We need to be at our best in every aspect because Madrid are a fantastic team, so you need to be focused for 90 minutes. You can't relax against them because they can score two or three goals in a short period as we all saw against Dortmund, for example, a few days ago. So we need to be focused and at our best for the full 90 minutes."
"It's very important. It's El Clasico, it's a historic match, it's the biggest rivalry in football for me. Now it's also about who will be first in the league, so it's a very exciting match," he added.
Barcelona and Real Madrid come into the match after an exciting week in the UEFA Champions League. Both sides were up against Bundesliga clubs and came out victorious against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, respectively.