Real Madrid News
Real Madrid will face Barcelona in a pre-season Clasico in USA: Date, venue set – report
After indulging in as many as six battles over the past year, Real Madrid and Barcelona will again square off this summer during their pre-season tour of the USA.
Fans were treated to six El Clasico battles over the past ten months or so, with things kicking off with a pre-season friendly at the Allegiant Stadium in Vegas, Nevada in July last year.
Following that, Real Madrid and Barcelona faced off against each other in five competitive fixtures during the 2022/23 campaign – twice in La Liga, once in the Spanish Super Cup final, and twice in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Los Blancos came out on top in two of those five competitive meetings, with Barcelona winning the other three. The Catalans had also come out on top in the pre-season friendly in the US last year.
Real Madrid will have an opportunity to get one over their rivals heading into the 2023/24 season. As reported by AS, the two teams will lock horns in a pre-season El Clasico, with the match set to be played in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl Stadium.
It is further claimed that the match will likely take place on July 29, although an official confirmation of the same is awaited.
Last season’s pre-season Clasico hosted around 64,000 fans at the Allegiant Stadium. But the capacity at the Cotton Bowl Stadium is much higher (92,101), making for a grander spectacle for the fans in the USA.
Given the support that Real Madrid enjoy in the US, one can expect fans to turn up in huge numbers as they had done at the Allegiant Stadium last year as well, hoping to see Carlo Ancelotti & co. get the better of Xavi Hernandez’s side.
Real Madrid News
Rayo Vallecano manager names the one Real Madrid figure he would remove from the team
Rayo Vallecano face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on a wounded Real Madrid this weekend.
Life after Inigo Perez has not been kind to the Vallecas-based club, who have already had to travel to Camp Nou and now face a trip to the home of their city giants.
Speaking ahead of the game (h/t Madrid Xtra), Rayo Vallecano manager Benat San Jose was asked which Real Madrid player he would like to remove from the team before this weekend’s game.
Surprisingly, his choice was not Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior or Thibaut Courtois.
“Mourinho”
Asked which Madrid player he would take out of the upcoming contest, Benat jokingly chose the man sitting on the opposition bench.
“Which Real Madrid player I’d remove from the match against them? Mourinho,” Benat said with a laugh.
The answer might have been delivered jokingly, but the Rayo coach immediately made clear just how highly he rates the Portuguese manager.
“He’s one of the best managers in history,” he added.
It is significant praise ahead of Saturday’s meeting at the Bernabeu.
Madrid’s squad contains enough individual quality to give any opposition coach several obvious answers, but Benat instead highlighted the influence Mourinho can have over the entire team.
That has become particularly relevant since the Portuguese coach returned to Madrid. His early work has focused on making a talented group function with greater collective discipline.
Courtois and Madrid’s attack also praised
Benat did not stop with the manager.
“They also have one of the best GKs in history and one of the best attackers in history,” he said.
Benat will definitely have seen how Thibaut Courtois played against Inter Milan in midweek and will hope that version does not turn up again this weekend.
Even when teams manage to create opportunities against Madrid, they still have to beat one of the defining goalkeepers of his generation.
At the opposite end, Madrid possess attacking quality capable of turning a match on its head.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham can all decide matches single-handedly.
Madrid have a point to prove
Madrid are coming off a disappointing loss to Real Betis in La Liga last weekend and will come into this game with a point to prove.
They will want to ensure that the loss to the Andalusian club was a one-off and that they return to winning ways against Rayo.
Their title rivals, Barça, have been flying high in the league, scoring goals and picking opponents apart for fun.
Madrid need to ensure that they do not hand too much early incentive to Barça, and it remains to be seen how Los Blancos fare against Rayo Vallecano.
