SETTABLOID

FC Barcelona take on Real Madrid tonight in a season-defining encounter against at the Santiago Bernabeu.

A win tonight against Carlo Ancelotti’s men would see Barça reduce the gap to the top to just five points heading into the final six matches of the season.

With Real Madrid still having some tough fixtures coming up against Real Sociedad, Villarreal, and Real Betis, Barcelona would have an excellent chance to have a late go at the title and end the season with silverware.

For that to happen, though, there is simply no margin for error as far as the Blaugrana are concerned, starting from tonight’s match at the Bernabeu.

Three players risk suspension

With another challenging match against Valencia coming up next weekend, three Barcelona stars must proceed with caution tonight against Real Madrid to avoid getting suspended.

Indeed, Andreas Christensen, Oriol Romeu, and Ilkay Gundogan are all on four yellow cards in La Liga at this moment.

Another booking tonight against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu would see the count rise to five, which would then earn them a one-match automatic suspension for accumulation of cards.

While Romeu is not a starter, both Christensen and Gundogan are expected to feature from kickoff tonight and are crucial to Xavi’s plans for the coming weeks.

As such, losing them to an unnecessary suspension at this juncture of the season, especially if the title is still in play, would be a major blow for the current champions.

Therefore, both Christensen and Gundogan must stay disciplined and not risk getting suspended when they face Real Madrid

t’s been a few days since Paris Saint-Germain eliminated FC Barcelona from the UEFA Champions League. As a result, various opinions and analyses are coming through, with one focusing on manager Xavi Hernandez‘s handling of playing with ten men.

Despite initially trailing 1-0, PSG received a boost when Ronald Araújo was sent off with a red card after a foul on Bradley Barcola. As a result, Xavi needed to modify his squad and adapt to the situation. 

The move that Xavi decided to make was to take off Lamine Yamal, who had a hand in orchestrating the first goal of the match. Nonetheless, CBS Sports‘ Jonathan Johnson believes that removing the player who was giving PSG headaches wasn’t the right call.

“When they went down to ten men, it’s really easy to look back on a decision like this and say it wasn’t the right decision,” Johnson told PSG Talk. “Obviously, Lamine Yamal had given PSG many, many problems in the time that he was on the pitch over the two legs, and it made Nuno Mendes’ life a bit easier. Obviously, he was caught out a little bit with the opening goal. 

“So, for him to see his nemesis taken out of the game was obviously a big help. And you could maybe make a case for Xavi not making the right call at the right time in terms of taking him out. But, at the same time, in those situations, you’ve got to sacrifice somebody, especially when you lose a defender. It’s unfortunate. Sometimes, when you lose a midfielder, you might be able to rejig the team without making an immediate substitution. 

“But unfortunately, when it’s in as critical a position as the defense and you’ve got a two-goal lead that you need to take, I can see the logic in taking out an attacking player. Just in Xavi’s shoes, maybe I wouldn’t have taken off Yamal. Maybe I would have taken off somebody else.”

Hindsight is always 20/20, and it was a major decision that Xavi needed to make to compensate for losing a defender. Perhaps the Spanish tactician felt he needed the experience of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha in this situation. Still, the decision didn’t work out, and it’s left to be a what-if in the minds of Barcelona supporters. 

For the past few years, Ronald Araujo has cemented his status as a permanent fixture and the defensive leader of this FC Barcelona outfit.

The Uruguayan international has grown leaps and bounds and established himself as one of the most reliable defenders going around in Europe.

However, a mistake against PSG, that ended up playing a huge role in Barcelona’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League, may well lead to his departure from the club.

Araujo no longer untouchable

Indeed, as per SPORT, Barcelona no longer regard Ronald Araujo as an ‘untouchable’ heading into the summer transfer window and are not averse to the idea of his departure.

By now, it is well-established that Barça need to make at least one major sale in the summer in order to achieve stable financial ground that would allow them to make their moves in the market.

A number of names have been considered as possible departees, but now Araujo is seen as the strongest candidate to leave in the summer.

On Tuesday, some Barcelona fans mistakenly threw stones and bottles at their own bus as it made its way into Montjuïc. The huge club badge and massive “Barça” written on the side were not enough of a clue. In fairness, they might not have seen that through the crowd and all the smoke. As for the metaphor, the self-inflicted damage, that was harder to miss

By the end of the night, Barcelona were out of the Champions League, failing to reach the semi-final for a sixth successive season. Against Paris Saint-Germain they had competed, which genuinely was something, and Xavi Hernández was busy telling the referee, Istvan Kovacs, he had been a “disaster”.

Related: Santi Cazorla: ‘I would play for free but you’re not allowed’

Xavi was sent off and so was the centre-back Ronald Araújo after only half an hour. PSG’s third goal came from the penalty spot after a challenge that João Cancelo, who committed the foul, admitted was “infantile”.

Xavi was furious about Araújo’s red, but the goalkeeper Marc André ter Stegen watched it during the post-game interview and had to admit that, yes, it was a sending off. Ilkay Gündogan went further, questioning the wisdom of making the challenge in the first place. Going a man down that early killed them, he said.

Defeated 4-1 by Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final and 4-2 by Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey quarter-final and now out of Europe having conceded four more at home to PSG, Barcelona were left with only the league. And that too is on edge: on Sunday they travel to the Santiago Bernabéu, eight points behind their great rivals with seven games left. Lose and it is done, draw and it is done. Win and it is probably done too.

It’s a contest that has captivated audiences worldwide for generations and 21st century meetings between the sides have been particualrly feisty – and often crucial as hell.

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have enjoyed some priceless moments in this rivalry and Spanish football would not be the same without this frequent duel. Recent Clasicos tend to favour Carlo Ancelotti’s side but Barcelona have had their fair share of scalps, with both teams having boasted some hugely significant victories over the past few seasons.

The Supercopa de Espana final has been contested between these two foes for the previous two seasons, with Barcelona triumphing in 2022/23. However, Real Madrid got their sweet revenge earlier in the 2023/24 campaign, hammering the Catalan club during the showpiece event in Saudi Arabia.

The 25-year-old spent seven years in Barcelona’s youth setup before moving to Dinamo Zagreb in July 2014, when he was just 16 years of age.

Olmo stayed in Croatia for the next six years before returning to mainland Europe, joining RB Leipzig on a four-year contract, but Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo report that Barcelona are keen to re-sign him, with contact already made with the Spaniard’s representatives about a potential return.

All parties are alleged to have left the meeting satisfied with how talks went, though completing a deal may not be as straightforward as Barcelona would like.

Manchester United and Bayern Munich are said to be ‘very interested’ in Olmo, who has three years left on his Leipzig contract, but the more pressing issue could be the Bundesliga outfit’s unwillingness to sell a player who has contributed eight goals and five assists this season.

Barcelona may end up having to trigger the €60m release clause written into Olmo’s contract, circumnavigating the need for Leipzig to give permission for him to move. Whether or not Barcelona can actually afford that kind of deal remains to be seen, though logic would suggest that a number of players would need to leave for the cash-strapped Catalan giants this summer.

Frenkie de Jong has been linked with a big-money move to Bayern, as has teammate Ronald Araujo – who was scolded by Ilkay Gundogan in midweek for his red card in Barcelona’s Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain – but neither player has shown an interest in leaving.

There’s also the small matter of Barcelona wanting to sign Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo on permanent deals from Atletico Madrid and Manchester City. The Portuguese duo are currently on loan in Catalonia and have proven to be key players for Xavi, who recently hinted for the first time that he may reverse his decision to leave as manager this summer.

Robert Lewandowski has called for Barcelona to go on the attack against Real Madrid when they face their bitter rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday in El Clasico.

Barcelona go into the game needing to pick themselves up from a tough defeat to PSG in the Champions League in midweek, while Real Madrid knocked out Manchester City.

Lewandowski has urged his team to go on the attack and bring all three points back to Barcelona on Sunday.

“El Clasico is always a special game, not just for us but for all the people in the world,” he told the media.

“For everyone waiting for this game I hope that we show very offensive football for the fans of the world, and we are ready to win this game.”

Lewandowski also spoke about how Barcelona have improved since Xavi announced his decision to quit earlier in the year.

From one side we respect his decision and now we are focused just for this season because we know it is very important,” he added.

“We have fixed some problems and challenges that we had and the way now is very, very good and we are still fighting, still trying to win every game and we try to do this until the end of the season.”

The Barcelona striker will be hoping to get back in the goals against Real Madrid. Lewandowski heads into the match on a run of three games without a goal in all competitions for the club.

An insight into the XI of players expected to take to the pitch for Barcelona against Real Madrid on Sunday has today been provided.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Erin Cuthbert fired Chelsea to a 1-0 win over Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League semifinal first-leg match on Saturday, handing the defending champions their first home loss in five years.

Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas missed a glorious chance to equalize when she shot wide right from close range on the last play of the game at Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium to send Emma Hayes’ team back to Stamford Bridge with the advantage.

The visitors stifled Barcelona’s attack, taking away the time and space that the Catalan club normally enjoys in its domestic league.

The high pressure led to Chelsea’s goal in the 40th minute when forward Mayra Ramirez forced a turnover, setting up Sjoeke Nüsken’s pass to Cuthbert, who beat a defender and fired the ball into the top right corner.

Chelsea has never won the Women’s Champions League or its predecessor, the UEFA Women’s Cup. In its only final appearance, Hayes’ team was routed by Barcelona 4-0 in 2021.

Xavi’s time at Barcelona may be nearing its end, but the club legend’s managerial spell will always be remembered for his faith in the academy.

So far, Xavi has given debuts to 15 La Masia stars during his tenure at the club to varying successes.

Many, including Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, have gone on to become indispensable parts of the team at a tender age.

Now, SPORT reveal that the manager has found a new gem in the academy who has even been called up to train with the first team – Alexis Olmedo.

A running experiment

According to the Spanish outlet, Olmedo participated in the first team’s final training ahead of El Clasico earlier today. However, it is not the first time he has been seen under Xavi’s command.

The 18-year-old debuted in first-team training a few weeks ago and is considered one of the academy’s brighter talents in central defence.

Olmedo arrived in La Masia in 2013 and has steadily climbed up the ranks ever since. He belongs to the same generation as Pau Prim, Hector Fort and Marc Guiu and is just one year older than Cubarsi.

Given his age, he is primarily a player for Barcelona’s Juvenil A side and even scored a goal in the UEFA Youth League this season.

His performances have earned him a place in Rafa Marquez’s Barça Atletic but an injury in October kept him out of action for close to four months.

Player profile

At just 18 years of age, Olmedo has made a name for himself as one of Spain’s bright young central defenders with a great understanding of the Barcelona way.

His primary strengths include anticipation in defensive actions, his speed and his passing range.

Apart from his ball-playing skills, Olmedo also boasts of a strong presence in the air, both defensively and from set-pieces.

If the youngster continues to impress at the ongoing rate, Xavi could well hand his 16th debut to an academy star.