Barcelona captain hopes Athletic Club will give Real Madrid ‘a hard time’ | OneFootball

Sergi Roberto’s return from injury has been a boon for Barcelona and Xavi amidst trying times.

With Pedri Gonzalez and Frenkie de Jong unavailable through injury, the captain has taken over the reins in midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan and has done a fabulous job so far.

The 32-year-old was sensational coming off the bench against Napoli and followed up his performance with a strong display against Atletico Madrid.

Roberto made a second consecutive start against Las Palmas and completed 93% of his passes, made eight defensive actions and was solid in the middle of the park.

Speaking to the media after Barcelona’s fifth straight clean sheet in La Liga, a visibly joyous Sergi pushed his team forward stating that the months to come were the most important.

“We’re heading into the most important stretch of the season.”

With Real Madrid taking on Athletic Club later this weekend, the Barcelona captain hoped for a tight match and a favourable result so as to reopen the title race.

“We hope that Athletic Club will make things difficult for Real Madrid tomorrow.”

Roberto then went on to praise the team’s young superstars who were dominating the top tier having just entered the scene from La Masia.

“I remember when I made my debut, but what these young players are doing is incredible. I’m so proud of them and all the players that have come through La Masia.”

Finally, Roberto addressed the elephant in the room – Raphinha’s disallowed goal. As the captain of the team, the Catalan star had a direct word with the referee but revealed that even the official did not explain.

“Raphinha’s disallowed goal? The referee told me he would explain it to me when he had time because it was difficult to explain.”

“No one understood why Raphinha’s first goal was disallowed, but the important thing was the three points,” he added.

Source of quotes: Barça TV+