Mourinho seeks Real Madrid turning point in Clasico full of new faces

Spain’s biggest football fixture arrives on Sunday night at Camp Nou with as many as 14 new faces that could make their Clasico debuts, but the return of Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho to the fixture will attract the most attention of all. Real Madrid and Barcelona both made six signings in the close season, while the Catalan club have promoted two youth academy products to their senior squad, injecting the tie with a fresh crop of players keen to leave their mark on the rivalry. Among them is Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus, who joined Barcelona from Arsenal in September. “Barcelona against Real Madrid is, without a doubt, amongst the biggest in the world,” Jesus told Reuters on Thursday ahead of the first meeting between the two sides this season. “It really is a dream to play in the Clasico for the first time. I’ve never made a secret of my desire to one day wear the Barcelona shirt and that goal includes playing in El Clasico.” Jesus is no stranger to facing Real Madrid, having scored three times against Los Blancos in four matches for Manchester City. “They were memorable Champions League clashes, including a goal at the Bernabeu,” he said. The 29-year-old Jesus grew up 8,797km away in Sao Paulo, and he could line up alongside Xavi Espart, who was born in Barcelona and came through their youth academy. One of nine academy graduates in their squad, Espart highlighted the implications of the match both in the standings and in the rivalry. “The truth is, it’s going to be a war. We will go all out, it’s a Clasico,” Espart told DAZN on Thursday. “You always have to give 100 percent, now we have the chance to extend our lead and we’ll fight to the death.” Victory for Barcelona would extend the gap in LaLiga between the two teams to nine points, a sizable margin to overcome. Should Real come away with a win, it would not only halve the current six-point gap, but provide a much-needed confidence boost for a side that has lost six of the last seven Clasicos. MOURINHO’S RETURN At the other end of the experience scale to Espart is Mourinho. The 63-year-old is a veteran of 27 matches against Barcelona and 17 Clasicos on the Real bench. Real Madrid President Florentino Perez first appointed Mourinho as manager in 2010 to compete with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, and he will hope the Portuguese can wrest the LaLiga title back to the Bernabeu for a second time. Mourinho’s first spell at Real coincided with arguably the most heated encounters in the modern history of El Clasico, and there will be numerous cameras trained on his every move at Camp Nou on Sunday. The Portuguese manager won just once in his first 10 Clasicos, but went unbeaten in his final five games against Barcelona, recording three victories. Recovering the winning formula against Barcelona may well represent a turning point in Mourinho’s second Real Madrid tenure, after two losses in their opening nine LaLiga games and frequent whistles from their own fans during home games.