El Clásico: Luis Enrique insists Barcelona morale wasn't killed by Juventus defeat
The Catalan giants must beat Real Madrid to keep their La Liga title hopes alive.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique says there is no issue with squad morale heading into Sunday's El Clasico against Real Madrid just days after their elimination from the Champions League.
Trailing 3-0 from their quarter-final first-leg, Barcelona needed another European miracle to keep their hopes alive in their quarter-final tie against Juventus on Wednesday. Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez were thwarted by a resilient Bianconeri defence however and crashed out of the competition.
While they have already booked a place in the Copa del Rey final against Alaves, their La Liga title hopes hang by a thread ahead of their meeting with eternal rivals Real Madrid. Zinedine Zidane's side sit three points clear ahead of the Catalan's visit to the Santiago Bernabeu and will still have one match in hand after Sunday.
"While Barcelona are also hampered by uncertainty over whether Neymar will be able to play, Enrique insists he side are in the best frame of mind they can be in. [Morale] is great. These are professional players of top quality, they know how to lift themselves," the Barcelona boss told a press conference on Saturday.
"They know they have to enjoy the good moments and prepare for setbacks. I think they in are great form, whenever you get as setback during a season, it's obviously bad news. But in sport, you have to accept these things. I think any player is a specialist in dealing with these things."
Jeremy Mathieu was the only absentee during Barcelona's final training session on Friday. Arda Turan was present once again after missing the disappointing goalless draw against Juventus on Wednesday with three members of Barcelona B also training with the senior team ahead of Real Madrid.
Carles Aleñá and Alex Carbonell, both 19, and 20-year-old Wilfrid Kaptoum were also part of the session.
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