Pedri: ‘The team is excited for El Clásico’

The first El Clásico of the season is almost here. It may be a preseason match, but here in Las Vegas, expectations have reached a fever pitch. With just over 24 hours to go until kick off, FC Barcelona midfielder Pedri appeared before the media to talk about the big game.

“The team is excited to play El Clásico,” Pedri said. "It’s been a very nice preseason and even though now the most important thing is to get minutes, beating Real Madrid would, of course, be good for us. There’s always maximum excitement for El Clásico.“

Barça’s duel against its eternal rival will have several new faces, among them Robert Lewandowski. “A player like ‘Lewy’ can guarantee goals,” Pedri said. “We saw it at Bayern Munich, and we are proud to have him here. We hope he can provide the same level of scoring.”

Pedri also praised fellow midfielder Frank Kessie, another one of the team's new faces. “He’s surprised me. I faced him at the Olympics and I was able to see he was very strong. I’ll try not to run into him,” joked Pedri.