MADRID: Off the back of massive Champions League wins over German powerhouses Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Real Madrid are set for a mouth-watering LaLiga Clasico on Saturday.
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One day after Real fought back from two goals down to thrash Dortmund 5-2 thanks to a hat-trick by Vinicius Jr., LaLiga leaders Barca ended a near decade-long winless run against Bayern with a 4-1 rout boosted by three goals from their Brazilian captain Raphinha.
Both Vinicius and Raphinha have arguably their teams’ best players this season and look primed to bring a Brazilian storm to Real’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium after they passed their biggest tests of the campaign with statement European wins.
Barcelona travel to Madrid sitting top of LaLiga on 27 points, three ahead Real, riding a superb performance from their attacking trio of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha who have scored 21 of Barca’s 33 LaLiga goals this season.
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Polish striker Lewandowski has netted 12 league goals in 10 games, double the amount of Real’s Kylian Mbappe and Villarreal’s Ayoze Perez who are the league’s joint second highest scorers.
Teenager Yamal has continued his form from Euro 2024 where he helped Spain lift their fourth European Championship trophy, but Raphinha’s all-around performances in manager Hansi Flick’s first season in Spain have outshone his team mates.
With nine goals and eight assists in Barca’s 13 games in all competitions, Raphinha was man of the match in his team’s two Champions League wins.
“I never had a player quite like Raphinha,” Flick told a press conference after the win over Bayern on Wednesday.
“He’s a great player, he works very well with the team, always gives everything he has and plays with a lot of intensity. He’s very important for us, he deals with pressure very well and he’s in a very good dynamic.”
FLICK START
While Barca have been delighted by Flick’s outstanding start with nine wins from 10 LaLiga games, Real have been their usual selves under the calm guidance of long-time manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Off the back of a near perfect season in which they grabbed a LaLiga and Champions League double, Ancelotti has led Real to four consecutive Clasico wins, including a 4-1 thrashing of Barca in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals in January and a 3-2 win in LaLiga.
Even though Real signed Mbappe in the off season, Vinicius has been still their difference maker, maintaining the form that made him key to their last-season’s success and put him in pole position to win the Ballon d’Or award on Monday.
“Vinicius is going to win (the Ballon d’Or)… he’s extraordinary,” Ancelotti said after Real’s comeback win on Tuesday.
With so much attacking firepower, injuries could play a big role in Saturday’s clash as both teams will be without key players in defence.
Real will miss goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, centre back David Alaba and captain Dani Carvajal along with forward Rodrygo.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and key defender Ronald Araujo will be absent, but Gavi, Frenkie De Jong and Dani Olmo are expected to be available.