Barcelona might be out of Champions League but El Clasico will be different: Hierro

New Delhi: Barcelona are all but out of the Champions League but the Catalan giants won’t be short on motivation when they face his club Real Madrid in a much-awaited El Clasico on Sunday, feels the legendary Fernando Hierro. Barcelona are currently on top of the Spanish League table despite both teams having identical 22 points. Real are in second spot because of an inferior goal difference. Hierro, who has played 439 games for Real in his 14-year career, feels Barcelona will be keen to get full points rather than sulking about an imminent exit from the Champions League. “Barcelona versus Real Madrid is a real El Clasico match, and the moment they are on first and second standings, what is important is to forget yesterday’s match and just concentrate on this exciting match on Sunday,” Hierro, a four-time Spanish World Cupper and an icon at Santiago Bernabeu, told PTI. “It’s a match where initially there are three important points in store and I have a feeling that this sort of match really motivates everyone and it will allow everyone to forget what happened in the Champions League. “This kind of match is highly motivating, and I’m sure Barcelona will face this match 100 percent concentrating on La Liga. They know it’s a very important match for them and for their fans,” said Hierro, who also was the Spanish national team manager at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Fernando’s national team colleague and former Barcelona midfielder Haizka Mendieta agreed that the below par Champions League performance (exit from group league stage) could create some doubts in Barcelona players’ minds but even Real’s sloppy defending could be an issue. “The result in the Champions League, well, it can create some sort of doubt but I think the team (Barcelona) knows how to identify and know where they need to put in the effort, especially in their defence, that’s where Real Madrid have got to be very strong to win El Clasico.” He believes that Xavi Hernandes will like to cash in on Real’s brittle defence. “Knowing Xavi, that’s what he’s going to work on. He is going to work on the areas taking into account Champions League matches, and he’s going to correct certain things and strengthen certain mechanisms he thinks are very important to be able to place up to match against Real Madrid.” Watch the El Clasico (Real Madrid v Barcelona) live and exclusive on Viacom18 network’s Sports18 1 SD & HD and MTV HD and SD in English, and Sports18 Khel in Hindi. Read all the Latest News ****, Trending News ****, Cricket News ****, Bollywood News ****, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook****, Twitter and Instagram****.