Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso refused to be drawn on comments from Lamine Yamal ahead of the Clásico, after the Barcelona star joked that Madrid “rob and complain.”
Yamal was speaking in a YouTube interview promoting Gerard Piqué’s Kings League — where he now president of a team — and made the comments when asked if a league rival behaved similarly to Madrid.
Madrid go into Sunday’s match at the Santiago Bernabéu two points clear of Barça, with nine games played.
“It’s an important enough game,” Alonso said in a news conference on Saturday when asked about Yamal. “It has a lot of ingredients… The important thing is what happens on the pitch, and what we have ahead of us tomorrow, and how we want to play. That’s what most concerns me.”
Barça assistant coach Marcus Sorg — speaking with Hansi Flick suspended — also played down the comments.
“Lamine is a top player, and I think it will be motivating for him,” Sorg said on Saturday. “We hope we see him tomorrow giving his best performance.”
Madrid lost all four Clásicos last season — two in LaLiga, and one each in the Supercopa and the Copa del Rey — including a 4-0 defeat at the Bernabéu.
“We’ve analysed them,” Alonso said. “But the moment is different for them and us, it’s a different project, we’re just starting. We’ve analysed it. We want to play to our strengths.”
In Alonso’s two most high-profile games so far, the Club World Cup semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain and the derby with Atletico Madrid, Real have suffered heavy losses.
“I don’t like just to look at results but the process,” Alonso said. “It’s been 12 games, there’s been growth, there’s room to improve, but we’re almost in November. No trophies are given out yet. There’s a lot of season left.”
Defenders Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal — who have been absent through injury — all took part in training on Saturday.
“I have [the XI] in my head,” Alonso said. “We’ve got almost all the players back who couldn’t play against Juventus [in midweek], and tomorrow you’ll see.”
– Clásico combined XI: Which players make the cut?- Source: Barcelona’s Raphinha to miss Clásico- O’Hanlon: Spain’s Clasico has a new star battle: Mbappé vs. Yamal- El Clásico is here! Head-to-head, form, key clashes, predictions, odds
Champions Barça finished four points ahead of Madrid last season, as they completed a domestic treble.
Madrid have won eight out of nine games in LaLiga this campaign — and all three Champions League matches — with their only defeat being 5-2 to Atletico.
Barcelona lost back-to-back games earlier this month, against PSG and Sevilla, but have since bounced back with two wins in the last week.
Information from ESPN’s Sam Marsden contributed to this report.
