"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."
"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.""
Lamine Yamal joked in a YouTube interview promoting Gerard Piqué's Kings League that Real Madrid "rob and complain" when asked if a rival behaves similarly. Xabi Alonso declined to be drawn on the remark, insisting the important thing is what happens on the pitch and how his team wants to play. Barça assistant coach Marcus Sorg played down the comment, calling Yamal a top player and hoping he performs well. Madrid enter the Clásico two points clear at the Santiago Bernabéu. Alonso acknowledged last season's heavy Clásico defeats, said the team has analysed Barcelona, noted growth across 12 games, and emphasized process and the length of the season remaining.
Read at ESPN.com
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