Former Barcelona captain Sergi Roberto has backed his former teammates to respond positively to their Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain ahead of Sunday’s El Clasico against Real Madrid.
Barcelona suffered their first defeat of the season after losing 4-2 to PSG in the Champions League, but Roberto believes the result will not affect their preparations for the meeting with their arch-rivals.
Speaking exclusively to Flashscore, the LA Galaxy midfielder said the two matches presented different challenges and insisted Barcelona should maintain their approach despite the setback in Europe.
“I listened to my former teammate Rafinha’s statements yesterday: he said that the 4-2 loss at PSG wouldn’t affect the Clasico at all, and I completely agree,” Roberto said.
“They’re different competitions and different teams: PSG plays very differently from Real Madrid. I saw the match against PSG, it was incredible: two teams that were always going to do a lot of damage to each other.”
The 34-year-old, who spent nearly two decades at Barcelona before leaving in 2024, believes the tactical differences between the two opponents mean the PSG defeat should not influence Sunday’s encounter.
“I think the match against Real will be a little bit different: they don’t have as much possession as PSG had on Tuesday. They’re different matches, and I don’t expect it to impact the Clasico at all,” he added.
Roberto also praised Barcelona’s performances this season, urging the team to approach the high-profile fixture as they would any other match.
“Barcelona are playing incredible football, and I think they need to approach this match like it’s any other game. This is the path that they have to follow, and I see them doing very well.”
The former midfielder knows the significance of El Clasico, having featured in 21 meetings with Real Madrid during his Barcelona career and winning 10 of them.
He also played a key role in several memorable victories over the Spanish giants, including the 5-1 triumph at Camp Nou in October 2018, when he provided two assists.
Roberto is best remembered by Barcelona supporters for scoring the decisive goal in the club’s famous 6-1 comeback victory over PSG in the 2016/17 Champions League, completing a remarkable turnaround after a 4-0 first-leg defeat.
Barcelona will now look to put their European disappointment behind them when they face Real Madrid on Sunday, with Roberto confident that his former club have the quality to respond.
