Monday, 25th February, 2013
Lionel Messi has promised that Barcelona will be going for the win against Real Madrid in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tomorrow night.
The first leg at the Bernabeu ended 1-1, with the Blaugrana scoring a precious away goal against Jose Mourinho’s men.
Messi wants Barcelona to go for more goals in the return and put Real Madrid to the sword, with all thoughts of a goalless draw banished from the team’s minds.
"We have to be at our best against Real Madrid because otherwise we won’t get through the tie", he told Barca TV.
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"In front of our own fans we don’t have any other option than to go for a win against Real Madrid; we can’t start thinking that a goalless draw would see us through."
And the Argentine also advised his team-mates to put their recent 2-0 Champions League loss against AC Milan and the lacklustre first-half display at the weekend against Sevilla to the back of their heads and focus on the important matches coming up.
"We mustn’t drive ourselves crazy about the result in Milan or the first half against Sevilla. We have to pull ourselves together because there are some decisive games coming up."
Barcelona are still on course for a remarkable treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League, but face a number of challenges to keep themselves on track.
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