Barcelona director talks Raphinha injury, Pedri, Super Cup final vs Real Madrid

Sunday night could prove to be a defining moment in Barcelona’s season when they lock horns with Real Madrid in the finals of the Spanish Super Cup.

The Blaugrana defeated their arch-rivals in the final last season – a victory that turned their season around as they went on to lift the La Liga title after that.

Facing Real Madrid in Super Cup final is ‘special’

And, speaking ahead of the big game on Sunday night in Saudi Arabia, Barça director Deco talked up the importance of the contest as well as how special it is to face Real Madrid in the finals again.

“It will always be special against Real Madrid, regardless of how the two teams are doing. Madrid are in a good moment, they played well against Atlético and are leading La Liga, they are good and confident,” Deco stated.

“But we have players back and we are at an important moment. It’s a final, in a final there are no favourites and we want to win.”

Barcelona’s objectives

Outlining Barcelona’s objectives for the season, Deco insisted that the aim is to win all titles possible, starting with the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.

“In the end it’s a title we want to win and we have to face it like this. We are fighting for all the titles we can play for. We want to win the league, we want to go as far as possible and if possible win the Champions League, we have the Copa del Rey,” he said.

“The good thing is to be in all of them and in the end it is to be able to be in the final. We have to think about the final and what’s in the future we’ll see, game by game.”

Discussing the semi-final win against Osasuna last night and the progression to the finals, Deco added: “It was an important objective, the club already won here last season. We are at an important moment in the season where we need to be sure of our game, be happy and continue to enjoy ourselves.

“It was important to go through to the final and to play well. It was a tough game, Osasuna were a very difficult opponent and I think we played a good game.”

On Raphinha’s injury and Pedri’s return

Barcelona greeted some good news and bad news on the injury front during the Osasuna clash as they lost Raphinha due to a hamstring problem, but welcomed Pedri back from his spell on the sidelines.

The Brazilian is now expected to be out for a month and Deco lamented the winger’s absence, saying: “We have been suffering with injuries throughout the season, we know that it is very difficult with so many games and that the demands on Barça are at the highest level.

“It’s a shame to lose Raphinha but we are getting Pedri back. We’re a bit used to it but it’s a shame because he’s an important player for us.”

Source: X/FCBarcelona