Barcelona — Barcelona will have to turn the page immediately after its painful elimination of the Champions League by touching him to face Real Madrid on Sunday, with the title of the Spanish League at stake.
Those led by Hansi Flick were at the time of reaching their first European final in a decade, but Inter Milan managed to overcome to win 4-3 in the return of the semifinal in an extension on Tuesday. The Italian team won the series with a 7-6 global marker, in one of the most memorable direct elimination crosses in recent history.
The young Barca squad was stunned by defeat, but Flick immediately tried to focus on the next classic, scheduled with four days of separation between a couple of transcendental parties.
“This game is over and now we have to get up and look forward, since we have the classic ahead. I will awaken the team,” said Flick said after the defeat in San Siro.
Barça maintains an advantage of four units over Real Madrid and a victory on Sunday would give him a comfortable margin. But a victory of the meringues would put the bid for the title in the absence of three days.
Out of race in Europe, Barça wants the domestic double after beating 3-2 in extra time to Madrid in the final of the Copa del Rey two weeks ago. A triumph of the Catalan club would also complete the sweep of the four classics of this season, as Madrid endorsed in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in January, after 4-0 in October in the League.
The meringues, in contrast, try to save a disappointing season defending their league title before the world expanding clubs that will play this boreal summer.
Lamine Yamal, the end that he played outstanding against Inter but unable to score in the return, promised that Barça will return with everything for the title of the Champions League next season. But that message ended with a cry of breath before the visit of Madrid.
“Sunday is another end and you have to be all together,” Yamal said in the club’s social networks.
Madrid improvises in defenseThe wear of the season has taken its toll in Madrid and has left several players in the injured list.
His coach Carlo Ancelotti will not have his entire titular defensive block, made up of Antonio Rüdiger, Éder Militão, Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy. Nor will the midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who also plays as a left side.
That means that the young Raúl Asencio and the midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni will probably be the plants, with Lucas Vázquez and Fran García as laterals.
-Barça hopes that the left side Alejandro Balde will recover from an injury to the left thigh that left him out of the series against Inter.
The right side Jules Koundé, who scored the victory goal in the final of the Copa del Rey, has been discarded by an injury to the left thigh. Ronald Araújo, or perhaps Éric García, will take his place to annul Vinicius Júnior del Madrid.
Flick will have to decide whether Robert Lewandowski or Ferran Torres will be headlines in front. Lewandowski lost several games before entering as a substitute in agony against Inter this week, but could not be effective.
Bet on more goalsThe three previous classics have had many goals, at least for Barça. The Catalans have scored 12 goals against the four of Madrid. With two depleted slices, the Olympic stadium awaits more so many.
Led by Raphinha, Yamal and Lewandowski, Barça leads the tournament with 91 goals, compared to the 69 of Madrid. Both teams have fit 33 goals this campaign.
Lewandowski leads the league with 25 scores. Kylian Mbappé of Madrid is just behind with 24. But while Yamal and Raphinha are having outstanding seasons, Vinicius and Rodrigo have been inconsistent.
The last great game of Ancelotti?The feeling in Spain is that Sunday’s game will probably be the last great match for Carlo Ancelotti as coach of Madrid.
Although he has a contract until the next campaign, it is widely expected to leave the club after a season in which the team played worse despite reinforcing Mbappé.
Brazil has been courting Ancelotti for more than a year and it seems that the conversations continue. The veteran Italian coach has repeatedly dodged the questions about his future saying that he will announce his plans when the season ends.
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SPORTS IN SPANISH AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
