MADRID — The last chance saloon has opened its doors early for Barcelona as they will travel to the capital on Sunday aiming to hold off Real Madrid’s La Liga title run in a desperate effort to stay alive in the race for the only remaining major silverware they can win.
Real leads La Liga on 78 points ahead of Barca with 70 and surprise package Girona (65) and a win on Sunday would give them an 11-point lead with only six games left.
Barca hosted Paris St Germain in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second-leg Tuesday after 13 games unbeaten, including six consecutive wins, in all competitions.
However, they went from heaven to hell in 90 minutes and were left licking their wounds after a heartbreaking 4-1 defeat, Reuters reported.
After winning 3-2 in Paris and taking a 1-0 lead with an early Raphinha goal in the return, the Catalans collapsed after going down to 10 men just before the half-hour mark and allowed PSG to fight back and secure a 6-4 aggregate victory.
To make their pain worse, Barca fans had to endure watching bitter rivals Real progress in the competition with a dramatic shootout win at holders Manchester City Wednesday.
That victory avenged last year’s defeat by former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola’s City side and leaves Real on their way to a record-extending 15th European Cup triumph.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti was beaming with pride after his team dug deep for long periods to keep City at bay and squeeze past them on penalties into the Champions League semi-finals, boosting their confidence ahead of the Clasico.
Winning La Liga already seemed like a long shot for Barca, but they were banking on the confidence boost of European success to challenge their rivals.
After their rich vein of form was rudely interrupted, however, the mood to face an in-form Real at the Santiago Bernabeu could not be worse.
By contrast, Real will be mentally ready for another battle despite enduring a gruelling 120 minutes at City.
“Everyone thought we were dead (against City) but never give Madrid up for dead because Madrid never dies,” Ancelotti told reporters.
“We have no physical problems and we have time until Sunday to recover. We will sleep calmly to recover and also to process what we have done at Manchester, it was something remarkable.”
Ancelotti has led Real to three consecutive Clasico wins, including a 4-1 thrashing of Barca in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals in January and a 2-1 comeback away win in La Liga in October, with a brilliant Jude Bellingham scoring twice.
Those tough losses helped to add pressure on Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez, who announced in February that he was stepping down at the end of a difficult season.
A Barca victory could help the Catalans hang on for a couple of more rounds of the league campaign but another loss would likely mean last orders being served for the season.
Ancelotti was beaming with pride after his team dug deep for long periods to keep Manchester City at bay and squeeze past them on penalties into the semi-finals of the Champions League.
“I love it when a team gives their all and sacrifices everything in big games like this one,” he said after a pulsating two-legged quarter-final that ended 4-4 on aggregate before the Spanish side triumphed 4-3 in a penalty shootout.
It was sweet revenge for Real Madrid, who was thrashed 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium in their exit from the Champions League at the semi-final stage last year.
“I believe that there was no other way to beat Manchester City here. I’m proud of what we did,” added Ancelotti, who paced nervously up and down the touchline during the shootout until defender Antonio Ruediger scored the winning kick.
“By the time the penalty shootout came, we were totally convinced we’d go through. You work, sacrifice and win however you can.
“We defended really, really well tonight. This was about survival. Madrid is a club based on always fighting to stay in situations where there seems to be no way out – but we always find a way.”
Ancelotti said his counterpart, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, had been generous in defeat despite the frustration of seeing his team dominate possession but fail to win in Wednesday’s second leg 1-1 draw.
“Pep Guardiola is a gentleman, always has been. He congratulated us, wished us good luck and that’s what a real gent does,” he said.
After taking an early lead, Ancelotti’s men were pressed back throughout the game, conceding late on but then hanging on through extra time until the penalties.
“We started well and scored in the beginning but the game changed, they pressured us and our plan was not to defend that deep but it’s a big game and you need to fight.
“We have seen Real Madrid do this many times before, a club that brings something out that nobody thought we would have.”
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