The table may already say Barcelona have the advantage, but Joan García is not interested in treating Sunday’s Clásico like a verdict. With Barcelona six points ahead of Real Madrid before the meeting at home, the goalkeeper’s message was simple: this is important, but it is not decisive, and the season is still too young to draw sweeping conclusions.
García made that point after Barcelona’s defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, a result that could have shaken the mood around the squad. Instead, he insisted the response has to come quickly. Barcelona, he said, wanted to win in Paris, acknowledged that it was a difficult match, and pointed to the benefit of playing every three days: the ability to reset fast and focus on the next challenge.
That next challenge is the kind that always brings the wider picture into focus. Barcelona beat Real Madrid three goals to two in last season’s Supercopa de España final, then defeated them two to zero in the league match that helped secure the LaLiga title. Now they arrive at Sunday’s Clásico with a perfect league record and just one defeat in 12 official matches. Those are strong numbers, but García was careful not to turn them into certainty. Titles, he said, are not decided in October.
That caution matters because Barcelona’s start has been impressive without yet becoming untouchable. A perfect league run gives them a cushion, and the six-point gap over Real Madrid gives them breathing room, but the deeper lesson is that early-season margins can be fragile. A single Clásico does not determine a championship, even if it can reshape the conversation around it.
García also framed the match as a collective test rather than a duel between individual names. Sunday, he said, is Barcelona against Real Madrid, not Courtois against Joan or Mbappé against Lamine. That is a useful reminder, because Clásicos are often sold as star showdowns when they are usually decided by structure, control and who handles pressure better in the key moments.
He was also direct about the danger Real Madrid can bring. Their attacking players, he said, can do a lot of damage, but this is exactly the kind of match Barcelona prefer. The confidence in that statement reflects where the team stands right now: in good form, clear in its identity and aware that the challenge is not just to survive a heavyweight fixture, but to shape it on home turf.
So the headline is not that Barcelona have already won the race. It is that they have given themselves a real early lead and the chance to defend it in one of football’s most demanding fixtures. García’s message was the right one for this stage of the season: respect the opponent, trust the plan and understand that the Clásico can change momentum without deciding the destination.
