There has been absolutely no time for lamentations following Barcelona’s Champions League exit at the hands of Juventus on Wednesday night. The European campaign may be over, but the team are still on course for what would be an astonishing third consecutive domestic league and cup double.
But the chances of achieving the first of those two targets very much hang on getting a positive result on Sunday in the showdown at the Santiago Bernabéu against league leaders Real Madrid.
So it was straight back to work on Thursday morning at the Ciutat Esportiva training ground for the first of just two morning training sessions in the build-up to El Clásico. The squad will be getting some much-needed rest on Friday but are due back on Saturday at 11.00am CET for the final meeting, after which coach Luis Enrique will be giving a press conference.
The main focus of today’s workout was on recovery from the previous night’s exertions at the Camp Nou, with all of the available first team members joined once again by midfielder Carles Aleñá and striker Marc Cardona of Barça B.
