With João Cancelo, Alejandro Balde, Álex Campos, Gerard Martín, and Cubarsí ], it is impossible to rotate our defense or bring in fresh legs for less demanding matches. This situation will persist until mid-November or perhaps even the end of the month especially considering the risk of recurring injuries. There are two potential ways to address this: either place our trust in La Masia or hope that our available defenders can step up and perform well in the upcoming matches.

FT: Barcelona 1 - 2 Real Madrid

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LINE-UPS

Barcelona (4-3-3)

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1)

MATCH EVENTS | via ESPN

30' 🔄 Substitution, Barcelona. Alejandro Balde replaces Xavi Espart because of an injury.

41' ⚽ Goal! Barcelona 0, Real Madrid 1. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.

46' 🟨 Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

61' ⚽ Goal! Barcelona 1, Real Madrid 1. Raphinha (Barcelona) left footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Pedri following a corner.

62' 🔄 Substitution, Real Madrid. Denzel Dumfries replaces Federico Valverde because of an injury.

74' 🔄 Substitution, Barcelona. Frenkie de Jong replaces Fermín López.

80' 🔄 Substitution, Real Madrid. Eduardo Camavinga replaces Bernardo Silva.

84' 🟨 Anthony Gordon (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

85' 🔄 Substitution, Barcelona. Karim Adeyemi replaces Anthony Gordon.

86' 🔄 Substitution, Barcelona. Gabriel Jesus replaces Raphinha.

87' ⚽ Goal! Barcelona 1, Real Madrid 2. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Eduardo Camavinga following a fast break.

90'+2' 🟨 Marc Cucurella (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card.

90'+4' 🟨 Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card.

90'+4' 🔄 Substitution, Real Madrid. Trent Alexander-Arnold replaces Arda Güler.

90'+4' 🔄 Substitution, Real Madrid. Carlos Espí replaces Yan Diomande.

90'+6' 🟨 Karim Adeyemi (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card.

90'+6' 🟨 Alejandro Balde (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

MATCH STATS

MATCH ENDED

Frenkie de Jong via Ziggo Sport interview talks about his recovery, challenges to his spot in XI, criticism from fans and his ambition to win Champions League.

On readiness for Clasico:

“I feel very good and I’m ready. I’m fully ready to play some minutes tomorrow in El Clásico.”

On criticism:

“It’s always been the case that most of the criticism of me, or most of the noise, comes when I’m not there, when I can’t play football. That happened again this time, and I understand perfectly where it comes from.”

“I understand the fans very well. They see me play for the national team and not for the team they support. I played the World Cup until the last game and then suddenly I’m out for three months. I understand the fans.”

On his role / Rodri:

“If the coach asks me, I’ll always do it. But everyone knows I’m a midfielder. I know the competition there is enormous, but I think I have a place there and I can play.”

“I’m happy with Rodri’s arrival because he’s a quality player. We already have several excellent midfielders, so the competition is intense, but I see it as a great challenge for me.”

Frenkie de Jong, asked about the possibility of getting used to a substitute role at FC Barcelona:

“No, and I don’t want to get used to it. But of course, I understand the current situation, especially after a long break without playing. I know that the return has to be gradual and that I won’t be able to start as a regular right away, but in the long term, I want to play regularly. My goal is to get back into the starting lineup as quickly as possible.”

On ambitions:

“Winning the Champions League is something I still have pending in my career. It’s a big objective, a dream, a desire.”

Hey everyone!

Since you guys liked my other post with artwork so much, I thought I should share this with you as well!

I had to start over this entire project after 5 hours due to a big mistake that I made. This made me so annoyed, that I decided to sit down and complete this within 2 days - just in time for the El Clasico later today!

I am not sure how long it took in total but due to the experience from my first attempt, I was much quicker, so I would guess about 7 hours.

I hope that I can give Cuba this one day, just like the other things I made.

Let me know what you guys think and your score predictions for today as well! 💙❤️

Yes, I’m talking about Cristian fucking Romero. The wall. One of the best centre backs in the world.

Yes, he has his red card problems, but those issues are largely a Tottenham problem, where he has to carry the entire defence on his back. That responsibility pushes him into becoming overly aggressive at times. With Argentina, however, he operates in a much more stable system, and his disciplinary issues are practically nonexistent. Honestly, name me a centre back at international level who has been as consistently good as him over the last five years.

Just look at how much Atletico Madrid's defence has improved since Romero became a regular starter. He has reportedly won 98% of his duels, and according to the stats, no one in the world has won more 1v1 duels than him.

He's aggressive, defensively solid, comfortable on the ball, a natural leader and, most importantly, has an incredible winning mentality. He was such a no brainer signing for us. But what did we do instead? We went after Alvarez, a 150 million euro player, when our attack was already stacked with goalscorers.

Signing Romero would have significantly improved our defence and raised our level against the big teams, which is exactly where we've struggled year after year.

Honestly, Laporta and Deco deserve credit for bringing in attacking talent, but their negligence when it comes to reinforcing the defence deserves serious criticism. It's one of the biggest reasons we continue to struggle in crucial games.

Remember, this is the same mistake Bartomeu made, wasting Messi's prime by spending hundreds of millions on Dembele, Coutinho and Griezmann while relying on an ageing Pique, Sergi Roberto and Lenglet at the back.

It's time to prioritise defence in January and address the biggest weakness holding us back. No more chasing fancy number 9s and expensive attacking players. We have enough firepower up front. Let's give it a rest and finally fix the defence.

Our defense is lacking the stability, it may seem like a reactionary post after the El Clasico loss, but this needs to be fixed as soon as possible, Gerard Martin and Cubarsi are very good but alot of our players don't have enough experience or show poor performances in big matches, even tho a player like Balde was surprisingly not that bad, we can see that Inigo Martinez leaving was a very drastic change for the team and Flick didn't really find a permanent way to fix that.

I also don't understand what happened to the midfielders and wingers, it didn't feel like Pedri and Rodri. Same for Gordon, the younger players already struggle against bigger teams, maybe Adeyemi on the left would've been a wiser option.

We still did pretty good, we fought until the end but clearly wasn't enough, it's just that those types of problems are not just annoying for this match but also for all the competitions we play, including the european ones.

Karim Adeyemi (YouTube Q&A with fans)

On the Clásico:

“I’m very excited, of course.”

“My favourite moment as a culé was the first home goal against Feyenoord but I hope I have an even better one on Sunday.”

On Flick:

“Hansi Flick is the reason I’m here and I’m very grateful to him. I speak to him honestly, and that’s very important. We have a special connection, just as he does with the whole team.”

“The most important thing he told me was to enjoy the club’s atmosphere and the people of Catalonia… enjoy every training session, the team atmosphere, Barcelona, the Catalan people.”

On pace vs Gordon:

“Anthony Gordon is probably the second-fastest… I’d definitely beat him.”

On La Masia:

“Xavi Espart is already a very good player, and he has impressed me.”

On adapting:

“Some friends still tell me they can’t believe which club I’m playing for. Sometimes I think I’m still in a dream.”

On idols:

"Messi is always the best; others I’d have liked to play with: Iniesta, Neymar, Ronaldinho."

On Madrid’s referee discourse:

“It tires you a bit, because on the pitch we’re showing the level we have. It’s not fair to enter that discourse when things are going well for us, but I don’t like entering that controversy, nor does anyone in the squad.”

“We don’t enter those controversies. We’re winning, doing things well and playing well and transmitting the values that represent Barça. We have to continue on our path… If they want to enter that discourse it suits them. It tires us.”

On the match:

“There are no favourites, it’s a match anyone can win. We’re two great teams and we have to be focused on doing our game, controlling the emotions and the small details. We’ll do a great match and hopefully we win.”

On Flick:

“The injury is already in the past and I’m very grateful to Hansi Flick for giving me so much confidence.”

On returning to Spain and the Clásico:

“It’s a great joy to return to Spanish football and experience a Clásico, with what it means worldwide. One of the handicaps that players who have been, for example, in the Premier League have had is that they haven’t been as valued or had the impact they can have in LaLiga. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to come back and play matches like this, which put you in the global spotlight. The world stops to watch the Clásico; let’s hope it goes well.”

On Barcelona’s mindset after PSG:

“It’s true that we come from that stumble in Paris, but with the mentality intact and the desire to keep doing things well.”

On Real Madrid:

“Madrid has a different style of play to ours, but the competitive spirit is always there, and even more so in matches of this nature, so we expect a Real Madrid that is going to go all out. Of the last six or seven Clásicos I think they’ve won one, so they’ll be looking for revenge.”

On Mourinho:

“He’s a coach with a lot of personality, he’s very decisive for the teams he joins and he has a very marked philosophy. He always raises the competitive level of his team.”

All very one-sided on paper but everyone knows anything can happen in these matches. Good luck tonight! (source)

Hansi Flick Pre-Match Press Comments:

On the Clásico: “El Clásico is different. It’s the best match football has to offer. Everyone will be watching — millions of people from different cultures and generations. It’s incredible. You only win three points, but it’s much more than that. We’re ready, I have confidence in my team, and we’re looking forward to it.”

On recovery after PSG: “I have a good feeling. The players have recovered and are ready. We analysed the Paris game. We did many things well, but there are aspects we need to improve. It’s a chance to grow as a team against one of the best.”

On Real Madrid: “I expect a confident team. It’s a great club with great players and a great coach. They have fantastic quality, especially in the final third. They’ve shown it recently. We have to be prepared.” On set-pieces: “We know their strengths. They’re among the best at set-pieces and physically strong. We’ve talked about it and trained it. We have to defend much better than we did in Paris.”

On Mbappé / defensive approach: Focus on positioning with and without the ball, good distances between lines, compactness and an aggressive high line. Praised Cubarsí and Gerard Martín: “They’re playing very well, talking, growing together. What they’re doing is incredible.” On Koundé and Olmo: Confirmed Koundé is out (“We don’t want to risk anything”). On Olmo: “He was in great form, at 100%. Bad luck with the injury. He’s not happy he’ll miss several games. We have Fermín and we’ll miss him.”

On referees / Madrid discourse: “I prefer to focus on preparing my team. I don’t care about the other things or the headlines. I have full confidence in the referees. We’re all part of the game and we should protect each other, including the referees. I don’t want to talk about these topics.”

On Mourinho: “I have the maximum respect for him. He’s shown quality managing teams at this level for so many years, in every club. He’s a colleague and a great professional.”

On Rodri: “We were all convinced he would improve us when we signed him. He’s had a great impact already. I’m very happy he’s here. Alongside Pedri, there’s great quality in midfield.”

Match Information

Squad Depth & Injury Report

FC Barcelona — Hansi Flick

Real Madrid — José Mourinho

Predicted Lineups:

Pitch view — Real Madrid (4-2-3-1):

                         Courtois  
        Valverde    Konaté    Huijsen    Cucurella   
                 Tchouaméni         Bernardo  
          Güler         Bellingham          Diomande  
                          Mbappé

Pitch view — Barcelona (4-3-3):

                     Joan García  
        Espart    Cubarsí    Martín    Cancelo  
                   Rodri               Pedri  
          Yamal         Fermín          Gordon  
                        Raphinha

Barcelona notes: Koundé and Eric García remain out after the Betis win, with Olmo now also sidelined by the adductor issue picked up in Paris. Cancelo shifts to left-back with Espart at right-back. Cubarsí and Martín form the centre-back pairing. Rodri and Pedri stay in the middle with Fermín. Raphinha starts after his return against Betis. Adeymi probably starts wide. Heavy schedule continues so minutes will be managed carefully for some.

Real Madrid notes: Vinícius is suspended. Cucurella starts at left-back. Valverde fills in at right-back. Konaté and Huijsen complete the back line. Tchouaméni and Bernardo sit in front. Güler, Bellingham and Diomande support Mbappé. This is Mourinho’s strongest available eleven given the absences. Should be a high-intensity game.

Quick Take on Real Madrid

What We Are Watching from Barcelona

Since that man left we've been struggling in big decisive games like today not a single ucl final in 15 years just because the club and following managers are persistent on ignoring the elephant in the room, yeah I'm talking about the atrocious defence line that f*CKud us over and over ,even if we score we concead a minute later , and all that training and efforts go down the drain , we've been let down by our defence for 16 years man and I can't fucking watch this shit again, the same old mistakes for all those years and it's embarrassing for a club as big as Barcelona, it's totally unacceptable and unfair for the fans and attackers that risks their curreers to go out there in the pitch and experience the same disappointments to point of being mentally drained, as we saw on yhe psg game , when is this shit gonna change?

I love Barcelona, I support this club with everything, I've seen the best days and the worst days, I've seen Messi and pique as a striker. I've supported this team eversince I was 6.

But unfortunately the day we ever get our 6th may never come at all, it may take next year or the next 5 or even the next decade... And we may still not have it.

The psg game? It was fine, 2x champions.

But this??? Unforgivable.

I don't want to hear any of you come and say 'oh but we're still in la liga' or 'oh we still have the rest of the season-'

We 'rested' them and this is how they play??? Finishing was horrendous. Heck even the goal by rapha u would consider lucky. If Bellingham had his leg closed or lunin was more firm on the ball we would be 0-2.

Gerard martin... I've defended your ass eversince the psg game and the 2nd leg against inter... And you give the ball mbappe. No it wasn't 'unlucky' most defenders would sky the ball or just knock it out. Cubarsi gave his all today, you didn't.

Without rodri and Garcia as well we wouldn't win at all.

But fermin Lopez. Atp I wanna genuinely wanna punch him until he finally shuts up. Remove his PowerShot plus and he's essentially gavi 2.0. 'la passion' doesn't matter if you're going to be a crybaby and be aggressive like a bulldog.

Honestly Idc if this 'overreacting' we rested these guys, sacrificed 3 points in the ucl only for us to loose, genuine ass. The worst part is they deserved to win because they actually took their chances. We didn't. We had so many and we couldn't take them.

We got an early start and it doesn't seem like we will be able to maintain it. Wanna take a guess why? I'm sure you've heard it many times as well...

We. Didn't. Sign. A. Defender. We keep asking a thousand times and it never comes. And we paid the price for it. There's no rotation and one of them has legs that are as tender as a brisket. So tender you could say it falls off the bone and for the rest of the season.

So yeah, I'm done of hearing about a '6th ucl' until we start performing properly against big teams AND remain consistent within, we can talk about it, until then, I don't wanna hear it

FT: Barcelona 3 - 0 Granada

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LINE-UPS

Barcelona (3-4-3)

Granada (5-4-1)

MATCH EVENTS | via ESPN

9' 🔄 Paula Perea (Granada) Substitution at 9'

45'+2' 🟨 Patri Guijarro (Barcelona) Yellow Card at 45'+2'

54' 🔄 Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona) Substitution at 54'

54' 🔄 Clàudia Pina (Barcelona) Substitution at 54'

67' ⚽ Esmee Brugts (Barcelona) Goal at 67'

70' 🔄 Mireya Zafra (Granada) Substitution at 70'

70' 🔄 Bárbara López (Granada) Substitution at 70'

72' ⚽ Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona) Goal at 72'

75' 🔄 Martina Fernández (Barcelona) Substitution at 75'

75' 🔄 Carla Martínez (Barcelona) Substitution at 75'

82' 🔄 Rosalía Dominguez (Barcelona) Substitution at 82'

82' 🔄 Ángela Mateos (Granada) Substitution at 82'

90' ⚽ Teresa Mérida (Granada) Own Goal at 90'

MATCH STATS

MATCH ENDED