BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona must recover from its painful Champions League exit in time to face Real Madrid on Sunday with the La Liga title on the line.
Hansi Flick’s team was moments away from reaching its first European final in a decade when Inter Milan conjured a 4-3 extra-time comeback on Tuesday. The Italian side won 7-6 on aggregate in one of the most memorable knockout ties in recent soccer history.
Barcelona's youthful team was left reeling from the loss, but Flick immediately tried to put the focus on the upcoming clasico with only four days separating the two crucial games.
“This game is over and now we have to pick ourselves up and look ahead as we have the clasico coming up,” Flick said after the defeat at San Siro. “I will wake the team up.”
Barcelona leads Madrid by four points and a victory would give it a comfortable cushion, but a Madrid win would throw open the title chase in the three remaining rounds.
Barcelona is seeking a double after having beaten Madrid 3-2 in extra time in the Copa del Rey final two weeks ago. A Barcelona triumph would also complete a sweep of all four clasicos this season; it beat Madrid 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup in January after winning 4-0 at Madrid in the league in October.
Madrid, in contrast, is trying to salvage a disappointing season by successfully defending its La Liga title ahead of this summer’s expanded Club World Cup.
Lamine Yamal, who played superbly against Inter only to be denied a second-leg goal, pledged that Barcelona take another run at the Champions League title next season. But he ended that message with a rallying cry ahead of Madrid’s visit.
“Sunday is another final and we have to stick together. Go Barça!” Yamal wrote after the game.
Madrid to field second unit in defense
The wear and tear of the season has taken its toll and left several players, especially in defense, on the injured list.
Madrid will be without its entire first-choice backline of Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militão, Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy. Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who moonlights as a left back, is also out.
That means youth player Raúl Asenscio and midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni will likely anchor Madrid’s defense with Lucas Vázquez and Fran García as full backs.
Barcelona is hoping left back Alejandro Balde will recover from a left-thigh injury that ruled him out of the series against Inter.
Right back Jules Koundé, who netted the winner in the Copa del Rey final, has been ruled out by a left-thigh injury. Ronald Araújo, or perhaps Éric García, will take his place and face off against Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior.
Flick will have to decide if Robert Lewandowski or Ferran Torres starts at striker. Lewandowski missed several matches before he came on as a late substitute against Inter this week but was unable to prove effective.
Watch out for the midfield battle between Barcelona’s Pedri González and Madrid’s Jude Bellingham. The playmakers are critical to directing their teams’ attacks.
Bet on more goals
All three prior clasicos have been high scoring — at least for Barcelona with 12 total goals to Madrid's four, so expect more goals against the depleted defenses at the Olympic Stadium.
Led by Raphinha, Yamal and Lewandowski, Barcelona has a league-high 91 goals, compared to Madrid’s 69. Both sides have conceded 33 goals this campaign.
Lewandowski leads the league with 25 goals. Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé is right behind with 24. But while Yamal and Raphinha are having breakout seasons, Vinícius and Rodrigo have been inconsistent.
With Barcelona ruling the statistics and recent meetings, Madrid will have to capitalize on its extra days of rest and hope that Barcelona’s morale was damaged by Inter.
Ancelotti’s last big game?
The vibe in Spain is that Sunday’s game will likely be the last big contest for Carlo Ancelotti as the Madrid coach.
He is under contract through the next campaign but is widely expected to leave the club after a rough season in which the team played worse despite adding Mbappé to its squad.
Brazil has been courting Ancelotti for over a year and it appears talks are still ongoing with the veteran manager. Ancelotti has repeatedly deflected questions regarding his future by saying he will announce his plans when the season ends.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press
