While his teammates and manager were fully focused on today’s Champions League return leg against Manchester City, Luis Suarez already had his sights set on this weekend’s El Clasico showdown with Real Madrid.
The Uruguayan striker told GolTV this Sunday’s clash between the La Liga rivals will be played like a final, and Barcelona need to take advantage of Real Madrid’s defensive weaknesses.
“It’s a final because Real Madrid are Real Madrid,” Suarez told GolTV. “You don’t need to say anything else because everyone knows the quality of the players they have from the midfielder forward, but we also know the defensive weaknesses they have and we need to try and take advantage of them.”
The Barcelona forward assisted the opening goal of this season’s first installment of El Clasico, and shared his thoughts on making his debut for the Catalan club in the bitter rivalry.
Programming note: Soccer fans in the US, watch el Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid on Sunday, March 22 at 4PM ET on beIN SPORTS. If you don’t get beIN SPORTS, watch it live (and legally) via DishWorld for just $10/month for La Liga, Serie A, Ligue Un coverage and more. Watch DishWorld on your phone, computer, tablet or Roku. Plus, in addition to La Liga, Serie A and more, you’ll get Chelsea TV, Arsenal TV, Bayern Munich TV and more.
“I tried not to think about what was happening around me but to concentrate, to try and do everything well,” the Uruguayan added. “Seeing as it was my first game, I didn’t manage to enjoy it in the way that I should have been able to enjoy a Barcelona-Real Madrid game, which is what I’m going to try and do this time around.”
Suarez went on to reveal his favorite El Clasico memory, which just so happens to be Barcelona’s 5-0 victory in November 2010.
“I remember the Barcelona-Real Madrid game that ended 5-0 because I was in the stadium,” Suarez said. “It’s those sort of moments that live long in the memory: seeing how people celebrated, while the players also celebrated on the pitch. It was incredible.”
The Barcelona striker also explained his approach to this weekend’s first-place showdown at the Camp Nou.
“You need to enjoy it and concentrate on trying to do as well as possible to try and win the game,” Suarez concluded. “This sort of game means a lot for morale. In terms of motivation, it gives you a lot of confidence and we hope that it will be a good show for the spectators.”
