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Ancelotti, Koeman exchange words over fear ahead of El Clasico
Updated 21:35, 24-Oct-2021
CGTN
Carlo Ancelotti, manager of Real Madrid. /CFP

Carlo Ancelotti, manager of Real Madrid. /CFP

Carlo Ancelotti, manager of Real Madrid, and Ronald Koeman, manager of Barcelona, exchanged words indirectly at the press conferences ahead of the coming El Clasico, which will happen on Sunday.

The two team bosses focused on one topic: fear. First Koeman, who has not been at the best terms with Barca this season, said his players must "play without fear" against Real.

"We have to play without fear. We're confident. We know what we can do and we want to show that. We are at home, we will have our fans behind us and I'm not going into the game with any fear," said the 58-year-old Dutchman at the press conference on Saturday.

Ancelotti responded to Koeman's remarks later on the same day by calling fear "positive feelings." "Worry is normal, sometimes fear too. They are positive feelings. If you aren't scared, you face a lion thinking it's a cat. Fear is a positive feeling. Confidence is necessary. In my opinion I have a strong team with players with a lot of quality, not just technically or physically, but mentally above all," said the 62-year-old Italian manager.

Ronald Koeman, manager of Barcelona. /CFP

Ronald Koeman, manager of Barcelona. /CFP

Real are in better situation than Barca both in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League at the moment. Domestically they are 5-(win)-2-(draw)-1-(loss) with 17 points ranking third and have played one and two fewer games than Real Sociedad (20) and Osasuna (18) respectively. Barca have also played eight games but only rank eighth with a 4-3-1 record.

In the Champions League, though both teams suffered upsetting losses as Real has two wins and rank second in Group D while Barca lost two of three games to be at third in Group E.

The above differences put more pressure on Barca to win Sunday's game in addition to the facts that they are playing at home and Koeman needs the win to stay in his position.

"If there is any difference between the two teams, it's that they're more experienced in some areas. But we also have experience. They have youngsters like us, too, so it's more or less the same. I don't see a clear favorite for the game," said Koeman.

"I think it's time to win a game at Camp Nou. But they're just three points. You have to fight for a lot of points, not just against Barcelona, if you want to win the league," said Ancelotti.

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