Federico Valverde said he “won’t give any lessons” to Kylian Mbappé on how to beat Barcelona‘s offside trap ahead of Real Madrid‘s Clásico Supercopa final on Sunday (stream LIVE on ESPN+).
Mbappé struggled to cope with Hansi Flick’s high defensive line when the two teams last met in October, being caught offside a career-high eight times as Barça ran out convincing 4-0 winners at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Speaking in a news conference on Saturday ahead of the final in Jeddah, Valverde said finding a way to catch out the Barcelona defence was a collective effort, rather than a task for Mbappé, who’s now scored 14 goals for Madrid this season.
“I can’t give any lessons to a player [Mbappé] who’s won a World Cup and played in another World Cup final, who’s won everything in France,” Valverde said. “He’s a legend, one of the best in the world, and he knows what to do.
“What Barça are doing, they’re doing well, with their high line. But we have to be prepared. Above all, for the midfielders and the defenders, we have to be more worried about playing the right pass to play the forwards in on goal.”
Barcelona’s Supercopa hopes were boosted by the decision of Spain’s sports ministry, the CSD, to allow Dani Olmo to be temporarily re-registered with LaLiga while the body examines Barça’s appeal of the league’s refusal to sanction the Spain international’s registration for the second half of the season.
“I won’t give my opinion on what doesn’t concern me,” Valverde said, when asked about the move. “But putting myself in [Olmo’s] situation, it’s tough. A player always wants to play. It’s hard, training, not knowing if you’ll be able to play football, with that passion which most players have. It must be tough. But the important thing is training, preparing well. It isn’t nice for a player to go through that.”
Madrid’s 3-0 Supercopa semifinal win over Mallorca on Thursday was marred by on-field clashes between the two teams on the final whistle, with Madrid’s players angered by full-back Pablo Maffeo‘s targeting of Vinícius Júnior during the game.
“I think they’re things that happen in football, things that can happen,” Valverde said. “When you lose you’re angry, and when you win, you’re euphoric. They’re situations, after 90 minutes of running back and forth, you can say the first thing that comes into your head. They’re football things, and it stops there.”
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