FC Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman expressed faith in his team’s ability to perform in the first El Clasico of the season before the Balugranes took on Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday.
“We have to play without fear,” Koeman stated. “We’re confident. We know what we can do and we want to show that. We are at home, we will have our fans behind us and I’m not going into the game with any fear.” The Dutch coach also reiterated that his team has improved their form, winning their last two games, defeating Valencia and Dynamo Kyiv respectively.
Going into the match, Barcelona finds itself in 7th place on the La Liga standings with 15 points from eight games, just two points behind 3rd-placed Real Madrid.
As the first El Clasico to take place since Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona, the Catalan giants will be turning to their rising star Ansu Fati to deliver the goods on matchday. The 18-year-old, who now wears the number 10 jersey at Barca, has scored two goals and bagged one assist in just three games since returning from injury.
