Barcelona defender highlights the key to beating Real Madrid in El Clasico – ‘Need to be at peak focus’ | OneFootball

Barcelona are on the verge of clinching the La Liga title, and Sunday’s El Clasico at the Spotify Camp Nou presents them with the perfect opportunity to do it in the most spectacular fashion possible.

But with nothing left to play for except pride, the Real Madrid team will be determined to produce a strong response at Camp Nou and will be aggressive from the start.

Jules Kounde is one of the players who will be tasked with keeping Real Madrid’s attack quiet, and the French defender has been speaking ahead of the highly anticipated fixture.

Kounde on pressure and the Clasico

Kounde talked about the preparations that go into the El Clasico and focus becomes important in such a key fixture.

“I don’t like living without pressure. I take on responsibility naturally, as it’s part of a professional athlete’s life. I handle pressure well, as it’s part of our job, and I love the feeling of it,” he said.

On the mood inside the Barcelona camp, he sounded quite positive, stating that the team is determined to win the league.

Kounde is fully focused for the Clasico. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

“The team is in a state of great focus. We have a strong desire to win the league. A draw would be enough for us to achieve it, but we want to beat Real Madrid,” he added.

On stopping Real Madrid’s attack

When asked about the key to winning the Clasico, Kounde pointed to a collective effort rather than individual defending.

“The key to winning El Clasico will be good pressing from the entire team, not just defence. We need to be at peak focus,” he said.

Perhaps the key highlight of the interview was when Kounde was asked which attacker had caused him the most problems throughout his career.

“Vinicius. I suffered a lot against Leao as well. And even Lamine in training puts a huge effort on me,” he admitted.

Kounde is likely to take on Vinicius Jr. once again at Camp Nou this weekend.

Source: BarçaTV+