Mourinho looks to halt Barcelona’s run as El Clasico rivalry resumes

Barcelona will try to extend their lead over Real Madrid to nine points with a victory in Sunday’s El Clasico. The Spanish champions have been eagerly awaiting the match, as it would give them a significant advantage in the league. However, some turbulence in the final approach to the clash at Camp Nou has complicated the picture for Hansi Flick’s team, who suffered their first defeat of the season at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday. Real Madrid, by contrast, have won four consecutive matches, and a victory would not only halve the current six-point gap but also provide a much-needed confidence boost for a side that has lost six of the last seven Clasicos.

Mourinho’s return to the fixture will attract the most attention of all. The 63-year-old is a veteran of 27 matches against Barcelona and 17 El Clasicos on the Real bench. Real Madrid President Florentino Perez first appointed Mourinho as manager in 2010 to compete with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, and he will hope the Portuguese can wrest the La Liga title back to the Bernabeu for a second time. Mourinho’s first spell at Real coincided with arguably the most heated encounters in the modern history of El Clasico, and there will be numerous cameras trained on his every move at Camp Nou on Sunday.

Flick praised Mourinho before the clash, saying he expected a Madrid side arriving with “a lot of confidence” and that he had the highest respect for the Portuguese manager. “When you’re managing teams on this level for so many years and you always have success, it’s about quality,” Flick said. “Out of that you can take preseason when the players were arriving [back from the World Cup] and the recent international break. Then we’ve been together a month-and-a-half, two months. This is the start of a product. We’re in an initial phase where the coach is learning, analysing, bit by bit defining paths. The players are learning about the coach. … Comparing a team in this state [to more established sides], I think is unfair.”

Flick said the 4-2 defeat in Paris by PSG on Tuesday gave his team some clues as to where they need to improve. “We analysed this game. We did many things really good, but we saw some situations where we have to improve,” Flick said. “We have to grow as a team. Tomorrow we play against one of the best teams in the world, so it’s a good opportunity to grow, to challenge ourselves, to improve ourselves and to grow as a team.”

Both managers expect an “incredible” and “unique” match. Flick said, “El Clasico is different. It is the best match in our sport, and everyone will watch it. It is incredible. It is true that we are playing for just three points, but the importance of the match goes far beyond that.” Mourinho said, “We’ve been in a good dynamic, winning games, playing well, scoring goals, but in El Clasico, it doesn’t matter what you did before. It has no influence. El Clasico is unique. Normally, the football world stops to watch it. Hopefully, it’s a great game and we win.”