Ahead of the first Clasico of the season at Camp Nou, the
former Arsenal midfielder insists that the Catalans know where the Carlo
Ancelotti's side are most dangerous.
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas insists that the side
will not scrap their style to avoid Real Madrid's strengths in Saturday's
Clasico.
The Liga arch-rivals clash at 17.00BST at Camp Nou in the
first showdown between the sides this season, with Gerardo Martino's men
sitting three points ahead of Carlo Ancelotti's third-placed side going into
the match.
It has been just under three years since the Blaugrana
have beaten Los Blancos on Catalunyan turf in La Liga or the Copa del Rey and,
while Fabregas is aware of how Madrid have exploited Barca's weaknesses in
recent clashes, he says that his side will not look to abandon their manner of
playing to compensate.
"Madrid haven't liked opponents ceding them
possession and waiting," the 26-year-old told The Guardian when asked if
Barca are easy to play against for a team like Madrid.
"Cristiano Ronaldo finds himself with two lines of
four in front of him; Gareth Bale would too. Karim Benzema's alone. What they
like is teams like Rayo Vallecano; what they like is for the opposition to come
forward with the ball and then lose it.
"In two passes, Madrid are at the other end. They
have such powerful players going forward. In the last few Clasicos they've done
that very well against us, to their great credit. They've won possession, been
aggressive and made life difficult for us, mostly on the counterattack.
"Changing our style would be an option but Barca
have to play like Barca. If we lose, we have to lose playing like Barca and,
when we win, we win like Barca. That's something I've learnt since returning.
"At Barca, no-one likes to lose. If you play well
and lose or you play badly and lose, either way you've lost but here people do
appreciate that we do things a certain way, our way.
"Now we have another coach and sometimes he has
other ideas, so let's see but, in theory, we'll be the same Barcelona we always
have been."
Culled from Goal
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