Losing prohibited! Real Madrid will be battling arch-rivals FC Barcelona in the Clasico at the weekend for what is supposed to be their last chance in the Spanish title fight.
“It’s a must-win game,” said national player Antonio Rüdiger at “DAZN”, “if you want to stay there, you have to win the game. We know that – and so we will go and give everything.”
Should Barca get the upper hand on Sunday (9:00 p.m.) with top scorer Robert Lewandowski, they would have a twelve-point lead with twelve games left. National goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen teased Rüdiger and his colleague Toni Kroos that Real had to be on their guard. Rüdiger replied with a smile: “We will be prepared, don’t worry.”
Clasico marked by scandal
Especially since the ailing world-class striker Karim Benzema should get fit in time. However, Real will have to do without David Alaba if they plan to secure their second win in the fourth Clasico of the season.
The defending champion won the first leg 3-1 in October. In mid-January, Barca prevailed 3-1 in the Supercup final in Saudi Arabia, and at the beginning of March Ter Stegen and Co. won the semi-final first leg of the Spanish Cup 1-0 in Madrid. The second leg is on April 5th.
The renewed duel is particularly explosive due to the referee affair, in which Real wants to appear as a party in the looming criminal proceedings against Barca for suspected sports fraud. Between 2001 and 2018, Barcelona paid seven million euros to former referee official Enriquez Negreira, President Joan Laporta protests the club’s innocence.