Faced with a FC Barcelona in search of a title, a clasico to the airs of cleaver for the Real Madrid of Kylian Mbappé

The Clasico is always a special meeting. But the 260^e Confrontation of history between the great rivals of Spanish football, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, Sunday May 11, at the Lluis-Companys stadium in Montjuic on behalf of the 35^e Championship day (out of 38), is even more so, in more ways than one. Because both have a lot to lose.

The Catalan training is currently at the top of the Liga, with 79 points, but it is followed by its “best enemy” Madrid, second with 75 points. The duel of the day promises to be decisive in the quest for the title. The Blaugrana, just eliminated from the Champions League, at the end of an epic diptych in the semi-finals against Inter Milan, saw their dreams of tripled (European Cup, National Cup, Championship). The Merengue, released from the quarter of the continental competition by Arsenal, want to save a 2024-2025 disappointing exercise.

Although physically struck by their failure in the face of the Nerazzurri, on May 6, the Barcelonans advance in favorites of this fourth clasico of the season. For good reason: they imposed themselves during the first three. First in October, during a total demonstration during the first leg of the championship, which is more on the lawn of their rivals (0-4). Then, on January 12, during a river match in Spanish Super Cup (5-2). Finally on April 26, in the King’s Cup final, at the end of the suspense in overtime (3-2).

The latter was not just a game on the ground. Chambarded by repeated failures, Real had shown that even the Madrilene sports daily Marca described as an attitude deemed “Intolerable and unworthy”in particular towards the referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, targeted upstream and during the meeting by the Merengue. Since the incident, coach Carlo Ancelotti and his players had only one match to play to resume their minds a little bit, barely beating Celta Vigo (3-2), through a double from Kylian Mbappé, whose performances remain scrutinized in the magnifying glass in Spain.

“Mbappé, we need you!” »»

For his first exercise in the Casa Blanca jersey, the 26 -year -old French international has chained collective frustrations, while retaining excellent personal statistics. In Liga, the number 9 displays 24 goals on the clock, only a unit of the Barcelona-central center Robert Lewandowski, and therefore remains in the race for the Pichichi, the trophy rewarding the best scorer of the Spanish championship.

Sunday on the lawn of Montjuic, he could even enter the history of Real, equaling, even exceeding, the Chilean Ivan Zamorano, holder of the goals record for a first season under the colors Merengue (37 in 1992-1993, all competitions combined, Kylian Mbappé into account, him, 36).

More than motivated by the stake, the Frenchman is especially aware of the expectation that surrounds him, in particular that expressed by the supporters, for whom he took the trouble to write a message on his Instagram account: “We are going to fight until the end. Hala Madrid! »» What local sports daily AS hastened to answer him in an editorial: “Mbappé, we need you!” »»

In fact, Madrid will need the captain of the tricolor selection in his best light, he who has almost always offered major performances on Catalan land, especially under the Paris Saint-Germain tunic. Stiring but taken out of play eight times during his first clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu, then scorer frustrated during the following two, in Spanish Supercup and in the King’s Cup final, Kylian Mbappé will once again be expected as a team of a team still very unbalanced and decreased by injuries (Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, Eder Militao, Eduardo Camavonga, Ferland Mendy).

Carlo Ancelotti already dubbed Xabi Alonso

In this last straight line for the title, the two rivals will have another three games to play after this Sunday, or almost. Because, if Barça will conclude this exercise 2024-2025 in May, the Madrids have a final deadline to perhaps attenuate this almost white season-they still won two minor coronations, the UEFA supercup and the intercontinental cup.

Qualified for the FIFA club World Cup-which will be held from June 15 to July 13-Real will fly to the United States at the end of its European season, in the hope of raising a trophy already gleaned five times in its history.

However, a question remains unanswered: Carlo Ancelotti, returned in 2021 to the club bench, will it be there? At a press conference on Saturday, the “mister”, expected to take the reins of the Brazilian selection, remained elusive about his future in Spain: “The honeymoon [avec le Real Madrid] is not over (…) She will continue, until the last day of my life. »»

In the meantime, the waltz of tactics has already started in Europe. The former midfielder of Casa Blanca, Xabi Alonso, who has left his duties at Bayer Leverkusen, is already announced by the Spanish press on the tablets of the club fifteen times winner of the Champions League. Rumors that have not escaped Carlo Ancelotti, even softening his successor potential: “He did a fantastic work there and all the doors are open to him because he has shown that he was one of the best coaches in the world. »» What close the page of a victorious sequence, for surely to open a new one.