On Sunday, the great rivals Real Madrid and FC Barcelona meet in La Liga in the Clásico. Ironically, in this duel, Hansi Flick has to take a seat in the stands.
For Real Madrid, Sunday’s Clásico against FC Barcelona in front of a home crowd is about making amends for the painful defeats from the previous season. In the 2024/25 season, the Catalans won all four duels between the two Spanish giants and also won the Spanish championship, the cup, and the Supercup.
Currently, Real leads the league table after nine matchdays, two points ahead of Barcelona. But ironically, in the highly anticipated league summit, Barca coach Hansi Flick has to take a seat in the stands of the Bernabeú after his yellow-red card against FC Girona.
The recent duels with FC Barcelona were not successful for Real Madrid
Exactly one year ago, Flick celebrated his debut in the classic there, thrashing the Royals 4-0 in their own stadium.
“That was last season and is in the past,” Flick clarified: “Now the situation is different.” Although he knows, “we are also capable of winning in Madrid,” for that, every player needs to be “at the highest possible level,” Flick continued. The opponent has “a fantastic team,” his players “have to fight and be ready.”
The well-deserved and clear 6-1 victory against Olympiakos Piraeus in the Champions League should give his team “confidence for Sunday,” Flick explained. The Catalans had recently faced problems after a good start to the season, which is also due to injury concerns. Several important players are currently missing, including Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo, Raphinha, and Gavi.
The Madrilenians, coached by Leverkusen’s championship coach Xabi Alonso, also celebrated a successful dress rehearsal with a 1-0 victory in the Champions League against Juventus Turin.
Apart from a 2-5 derby defeat against Atlético, things are going smoothly for Real. All other eleven matches this season have been won. “We are on the rise, the development is good,” summarized the Real coach.
Given the early timing, the Clásico should not be overestimated. “Nevertheless, the match has high significance, because of the game itself, but also because of the championship and the great impact it has,” emphasizes Alonso.