Mourinho returns to Camp Nou as Madrid hunts for three points
Real Madrid enters Sunday's match against Barcelona with a four-game winning streak, aiming to cut the league lead from six points to three.
By Alina Campbell ·
Sunday's match at Camp Nou will determine whether the gap between Spain's two football powerhouses shrinks or widens. Real Madrid currently trails Barcelona by six points in La Liga. A win for the visitors would reduce that deficit to three points. The home side is looking to extend its lead to nine points with a victory.
The context for the game is mixed for both clubs. Barcelona suffered its first defeat of the season on Tuesday, dropping a 4-2 match to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Real Madrid has won four straight matches. However, the visitors have lost six of the last seven meetings against Barcelona.
Jose Mourinho, 63, returns to the fixture as Real Madrid manager. He has coached 27 matches against Barcelona and 17 El Clasicos from the Real bench. Florentino Perez first appointed Mourinho in 2010 to compete with Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. Perez hopes the Portuguese manager can bring the La Liga title back to the Bernabeu for a second time. Cameras at Camp Nou will focus on Mourinho's sideline presence on Sunday.
Hansi Flick, Barcelona's manager, acknowledged the form of his opponents. He expected a Real Madrid side arriving with "a lot of confidence." Flick noted that his team is in an initial phase of development. "We're in an initial phase where the coach is learning, analysing, bit by bit defining paths," Flick said. He added that comparing a team in this state to more established sides is unfair.
Flick pointed to the Tuesday loss in Paris as a learning opportunity. "We analysed this game. We did many things really good, but we saw some situations where we have to improve," he said. He described Sunday's match as a chance to grow and challenge the team.
Both managers agreed on the unique nature of the rivalry. Flick called the game the best in the sport, noting that everyone will watch it. "It is incredible," Flick said. "It is true that we are playing for just three points, but the importance of the match goes far beyond that." Mourinho said the recent winning dynamic does not matter in this specific contest. "In El Clasico, it doesn't matter what you did before," Mourinho said. "Hopefully, it's a great game and we win."
