Xavi Pascual: “If we want to beat Real Madrid, we need to score”

Less than two weeks have passed since Barça’s Easter in Madrid (100-105), and this Friday Barça will once again visit their eternal rivals in the EuroLeague. The Barça team entered this new classic in great form, having won 15 of the 18 games they have played since Gaba’s arrival on the bench. But Pascual knows that surprising Real Madrid for the second time in a row will not be easy.

“It’s definitely an important challenge to win there again. It’s very difficult to win twice in a row, but we’re ready for the challenge,” Pascual said this Thursday. “We know the extraordinary quality that Madrid have, but what I can say is that we are going to win and we will give our all.”

The Barça manager believes that this classic match will once again be a high-scoring match, although he remembers that every game is different. “The theory is that Madrid will score against everyone, so if you want to beat them you have to play very well offensively. Their ability to score is very high, both in defensive situations and in situations where the defense is not very well defended, and they give you a penalty for any mistake. “It gives you the feeling that you have to score if you want to win. You never know, but sometimes if you have a bad quarter the game will be low, but it seems like the game has to hover between 90 and 100 points,” he said. he pointed out.

Pascual is reluctant to begin considering classification. “We have to wait a little bit. This week and next week are two very important weeks, because on the one hand it will decide our position in the cup competitions, and on the other hand, we have three games in Madrid, Dubai and Asbel, so we can start to look sideways at where we are and what lies ahead,” explained the former Gabba. Barça are currently 4th in the Euroleague (14 wins, 7 losses) and 3rd in the Endesa League (11 wins, 4 losses).

Barça will be fielding two players who have recovered, compared to Jan Vesely and Dario Brizuela, who missed the last Classic due to influenza. “We showed that our potential is higher when everyone is healthy,” said Pascual, who is very happy with all the players. “I’m happy with everyone. I try to get the best out of everyone and help the team. And beyond the fact that everyone has good and bad times and some people see the numbers and some don’t, you have to continue along those lines. They all have to be important to the team,” he says.

Coach Pascual is optimistic but cautious about Will Clyburn, who has been out since December 19th. “Clyburn is getting better. He’s doing well. There’s still two weeks left. Sometimes he feels like he can start already, but considering his muscularity, he has to calm down a little bit. We want to make sure it doesn’t happen again when he comes back,” the coach said as the American practiced individually a few meters away. At the time, the forecast for the decline was six weeks, but that could be shortened to five weeks.