Audio By Carbonatix
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."
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.
Latest Stories
-
The prodigal artiste: Why Ghanaian musicians need to lawyer up
5 minutes -
Our politics is corrupt; rule by the rich is not democracy
13 minutes -
Sesi Technologies launches AI-Powered soil testing services for smallholder farmers
24 minutes -
Ghana Chamber of Shipping calls for a 3-month grace period on cargo insurance directive
28 minutes -
NACOC to begin licensing for medicinal and industrial cannabis cultivation
43 minutes -
It’s easier to move from GH₵100k to GH₵1m than from zero to GH₵100k- Ecobank Development Corporation MD
48 minutes -
Between faith and rights: A nuanced strategic view on the debate over an Islamic widow’s political ambition
60 minutes -
At least Baba Jamal should have been fined – Vitus Azeem
1 hour -
Gender Minister visits the 31st December Women’s Day Care Centre and the Makola clinic
1 hour -
Ayawaso East NDC primary: Why feed people for votes? Are they your children? – Kofi Kapito
1 hour -
Ziavi Traditional area begins final funeral rites for Togbega Kwaku Ayim IV
1 hour -
Photos: Mahama swears in Presidential Advisory Group on Economy
1 hour -
Ghana intensifies boundary pillar construction with Côte d’Ivoire
1 hour -
NHIA settles December–January claims worth GH¢400m for service providers
1 hour -
Mahama warns economic advisers of ‘rough road ahead’ amid debt distress
1 hour
