Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday that he does not fear La Liga leaders Barcelona but has the utmost respect for Hansi Flick’s side, who they host on Saturday.
Barca lead the standings three points ahead of their rivals.
While Ancelotti praised Barca’s recent form, he highlighted the fact that Real are the defending champions and will not be intimidated. “Fortunately, at the moment nobody keeps me awake at night,” Ancelotti told a press conference on Friday.
“(Barcelona) are doing very well. But in a match like the Clasico it’s very difficult to pick a favourite beforehand. It depends on the dynamics of the match. It’s a matter of how you are able to handle the pressure, to deal with the tempo and how to identify the moments of the match…”
“Barca have a very clear idea of how they play the game, they are performing very well. They are a very brave team and we need to prepare well for the game and try to play our best version.”
Barca travel to Madrid off the back of a 4-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday, maintaining Flick’s outstanding start with 11 wins from 13 matches in all competitions. Real, however, have been under moderate criticism from pundits about starting their games slow, raising questions about their motivation after winning both the LaLiga and Champions League titles last season.
The latest example was in their Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, when they had to fight back from two goals down after a dismal first-half and scored five goals after the break. Ancelotti said that he is not worried about his players’ mindset and believes they will be ready from the start due to the seriousness of their rivalry.
“Usually in this style of match you don’t have to talk as much beforehand… The idea is to define a very clear, very simple strategy… and nothing else,” Ancelotti said.
“It’s not a type of match where you have to give big speeches. Playing like we did in the second half against Dortmund for 90 minutes is impossible, but that should be our starting point, what we will try to achieve. I think we did a lot of things right. “We will prepare the game to do the right things with and without the ball. We have to play a complete game to win and we will try to do that.”
Additional reporting from Reuters
