Pepe: Barcelona Have Reason To Be Worried About Real Madrid

The Portuguese defender is convinced that the Blaugrana are starting to feel nervous as Los Blancos continue their winning streak.

The mind games continue between the Primera Division’s two title challengers, Barcelona and Real Madrid, and Pepe believes that the Catalans must be getting worried that they have not been able to shake the Merengues off their trail.

The Portuguese has reason to feel confident, especially ahead of the vital El Clasico clash in just under a fortnight, as Los Blancos have conceded just five goals in their last 16 league games.

“We have had a little luck, but mostly it’s all because of hard work. We are all working together as one,” the centre-back said in an interview with AS.

“As I always say, the fundamental thing in football is to defend as well as attack. And to attack well means that the forwards must first help to defend. That’s where the work begins.

“Nowadays, the opposing forwards have fewer clear-cut chances in front of our goal. First they have to get past our midfield line, then they have to face [Fabio] Cannavaro and myself.”

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When asked if the Bernabeu camp feel invincible after winning 15 of their last 16 league games, Pepe replied, “We do not feel like that at all. We face each game with great importance but we have a strong desire to win.

“We are showing that we know how to be united on the pitch. It’s not easy to be six points behind Barca but we will not give up either.

“The feeling that we do have is that we know Barca must now be worried. They have reason to be tense because we have won so many games. Sometimes, it is not possible to play well, but now, the important thing is to get the result.”

Finally, the 26-year-old commented on the imminent exit of Cannavaro after it was revealed yesterday that the Italian looks certain to head back to Juventus next season.

“At the moment, he is part of Madrid. It is necessary to hope that the new president will arrive and things are sorted out as quickly as possible,” Pepe said.

Madrid will square-off with Getafe on Tuesday before travelling to Sevilla this weekend.

( KS Leong / Goal )