26th February, 2013
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has insisted that his side have to win against Real Madrid at Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey tonight.
The Blaugrana have the advantage of an away goal in their semi-final tie, having drawn the first leg 1-1 with the defending Spanish champions at the Santiago Bernabeu last month.
“We have to be at our best against Real Madrid because otherwise we won’t get through the tie,” he told Barca TV.
“In front of our own fans we don’t have any other option than to go for a win against Real Madrid; we can’t start thinking that a goalless draw would see us through.” Messi has scored 38 goals in 25 La Liga appearances so far this season.
Barcelona need to be more efficient in front of goal and iron out defensive lapses if they are to beat Real Madrid in today’s match, insist assistant coach Jordi Roura and midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
“We have seen that some of the goals have been conceded through our own fault and we will try to correct that,” Roura, who is standing in for Tito Vilanova, said.
Fabregas, who netted Barca’s goal in the first tie before Raphael Varane grabbed a late equaliser, said he and his team-mates will need to be as ruthless as Real in taking their chances.
“We have to be as effective as possible in the return game because they are,” he said. “We have to be on good form in front of goal if we want to get through.
“Madrid are very dangerous and to qualify for the final we have to play the best football we are capable of.”
Meanwhile, Real Madrid defender Pepe says they must play as a team in tonight’s tie.
Pepe says if they’re united, they can win at Barca. “Play as a team, like we always try to do in every match. If we play as a team we’ll definitely have a good chance of winning the playoff. We have to remain true to our style of play and do what coach Mourinho asks and we’ll have a good chance of winning the playoff.”