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García: “We must be true to ourselves”
The RCD Espanyol previews Sunday's big Barcelona derby at the Temple
On the eve of Sunday’s Barcelona derby, RCD Espanyol coach Luis García wants it to be a day of blanquiazul celebration above all else.
FC Barcelona come to the RCDE Stadium with their own motives to win, but the Mágico arrive at the derby three points off safety with five matches to play. The coach addressed the media on Saturday afternoon ahead of a crunch derby at the Temple.
García said, “There is no greater incentive than a derby and we have a lot more at stake than them. You risk prestige, the work of many years, the suffering of many people. No one is at stake more than us, not even the one who want to be champions. We must be an intense team and do what we have done for many minutes in recent weeks”.
Espanyol welcome Barça to what will be an intense atmosphere at the RCDE Stadium, the first derby of the year after the reverse fixture was played on New Year’s Eve. That saw Espanyol come away with a deserved point at the Spotify Camp Nou, and the aim will be to go one step further this weekend.
The coach continued, “We must be true to ourselves more than ever. We should be intense and aggressive off the ball and show our personality on it. It is a derby and we all know that they are unique. We must be capable of doing everything well in our game and thriving on the pressure”.
García concluded, “We will risk everything and we have to put that all together. The players understand the situation we are in because I have seen them very strong from day one, and they are showing a lot of personality; that is making us grow.
“Tomorrow is a day to be prouder than ever to be part of Espanyol. It is the day to leave everything out there so that our fans can walk proudly down the street. We will not play the same as any other match".