Barcelona vs Real Madrid
Barcelona and Real Madrid are set to renew their historic rivalry when they bring El Clasico to the MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Jets in the NFL, this Saturday evening.
This Club Friendly no longer needs much introduction since these are two of the biggest rivals in La Liga. With Real Madrid being the defending champions, Barcelona have a chip on their shoulder this weekend.
Manager Hansi Flick will get a glimpse of what a typical El Clasico match looks like, although playing his best players is not exactly his main priority this week. This is also the case for Carlo Ancelotti and co., as both teams will use this match to ramp up their conditioning ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
Either way, the SBOTOP football fans in New Jersey are the biggest winners of this contest, as they are assured to get their dose of Club Friendly 2024 highlights.
Talking Points
Barca’s youngsters are alright
The Hansi Flick era in Barcelona is off to a good start, as they held Manchester City to a 2-2 draw and won the succeeding penalty shootout (4-1) after regulation time on Wednesday.
In the said exhibition game, Flick played a host of youngsters against the reigning Premier League champions, and they drew praise from both Flick and Pep Guardiola after impressing in Florida.
Pau Victor and Pablo Torre found the back of the net in the first half to give Barcelona a 2-1 advantage, while Nico O’Reilly pulled one back for Manchester City in the 39th minute. Jack Grealish scored the equaliser for the Sky Blues at the hour mark.
Pep Guardiola cut a frustrated figure on Wednesday because his team struggled against Barcelona’s La Masia products. Towards the end of the first half, with the score level at one goal apiece, Guardiola’s poor body language was noticeable, and he even punched the dugout.
As his head cooled off after the match, Guardiola complimented Barcelona for their performance, especially Marc Bernal, as the 17-year-old midfielder impressed him with his “extraordinary” play.
Bernal excelled in his double pivot role with Marc Casado, while Pablo Torre and Pau Victor were solid as No. 10 and No. 9, respectively.
If they keep this up, Hansi Flick will be forced to fully integrate them into the first team next season, which is never a bad problem to have.
Endrick getting his feet wet at Real Madrid
After his emotional introductory press conference, Endrick finally made his debut for Real Madrid, and he was one of the brightest spots of the team in their 1-0 defeat against AC Milan on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old striker was named a starter against the Rossoneri since Los Blancos were without a host of first-team stars, including Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and Jude Bellingham.
Endrick only had a handful of touches, but he looked great whenever he had the ball on his feet. The Brazilian wunderkind only had one shot on goal in his 45 minutes before he was subbed off at halftime.
Samuel Chukwueze scored the marginal goal for AC Milan in the 56th minute to give Paulo Fonseca’s side its second straight preseason win.
Earlier this week, Endrick was given his “welcome to Real Madrid” moment when teammate Antonio Rudiger tackled him hard in training on Monday. He is far from a finished article, but he will only get better from here on out.
History
Saturday marks the 300th edition of El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The Blaugrana have the edge in the overall head-to-heads with 124 wins, while Los Blancos have won 111 times along with 64 draws.
Barcelona and Real Madrid are the winningest teams in La Liga history. Los Blancos have 36 titles, including last season, and the Blaugrana have 27 titles, with their last one in 2022-23.
These two teams last met in April, when Real Madrid secured a 3-2 victory at the Bernabeu. Vinicius Junior, Lucas Vazquez, and Jude Bellingham found the back of the net for Los Blancos, while Andreas Christensen and Fermin Lopez scored for the Blaugrana.
In their reverse league fixture, Real Madrid won 2-1 in October, as Jude Bellingham scored twice in the second half to overturn a 1-0 deficit after Ilkay Gundogan’s sixth-minute goal.
The Club Friendly 2024 odds predict a close fight between Barcelona and Real Madrid this weekend. After Saturday, Barcelona will take on AC Milan on Tuesday at the M&T Bank Stadium, while Real Madrid will face Chelsea at the Bank of America Stadium.
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