The emotional cocktail that threatens Barça in the Clásico: doubts about the approach, pressure from the president, and fear of failure.

Doubts about their own body's response, uncertainties about the approach, excessive pressure from their surroundings, and fear of failure. This is the dangerous emotional cocktail that Barcelona's players face before Sunday's Clásico at Montjuïc, immediately after losing to Inter in the Champions League. The psychologists consulted by this newspaper outline the scenarios that typically arise in these situations, albeit from a distance, without the information available to those working in the Barça locker room. None of these professionals, among them, because as Hansi Flick once said: "I'm the psychologist."

The coach, the players, the president, Joan Laporta , and the sporting director, Deco , shared a barbecue at the Ciutat Esportiva on Thursday, which ultimately turned into a potluck for the match against Real Madrid. Sources close to the team claim that the squad was already in the squad before the team's elimination at the Giuseppe Meazza, although the president was not present. Laporta asked the players to do their best, after having already called on all fans to attend the stadium. "It's a key match to win the league title. We have to fill Montjuïc together. I ask this of all Barcelona fans so we can beat Madrid. Together we have to get the players' mentality back."

For some of those surveyed, this is counterintuitive, because it creates unnecessary "overpressure" and creates the feeling that it's "win or lose." "It would be better to treat the match like any other and just get on with it," says one of the psychologists.

The wrong story

As soon as they lost in Milan, Barcelona chose the wrong narrative, pointing the finger at the match referee, according to a psychologist who has worked with La Liga teams, and who, like his colleagues, prefers not to be named, as he is linked to the sector: "It would have been more positive to focus on the good things the team did in the tie, but instead, they opted for victimhood." This was an endemic evil of Barça in the past, which always looked for alibis, whether in refereeing or in incidents such as Maradona 's hepatitis or Quini 's kidnapping, to justify its collapse in La Liga. This Barça is not the Barça of Lamine Yamal , with a colossal lead against Inter despite the defeat.

The European defeat prompted little self-criticism, with everyone focusing on Poland's Szymon Marciniak , except for his compatriot Wojciech Szczesny . "However, the players know they conceded seven goals, an excessive number, and that can generate internal uncertainty about the coach's approach, even if they don't express it," explains a therapist accustomed to working with teams. Concerns about defense, very risky in Flick's case, always arise after thrashings. Added to this is the presence of a temporary goalkeeper, who hasn't shown the impossible qualities of Yann Sommer (Inter) or Gigi Donnarumma (PSG) during the Champions League semi-finals, and the presence of two of the best forwards in space, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius , opposite him.

"Let's give it our all"

Barça must therefore work on strengthening the style they've developed, and that's what Flick is trying to do these days. Alejandro Balde 's possible return to Montjuïc restores some security to the defense. One of the most pointed out has been Ronald Araújo , who apologized on social media and said: "We're going to give it our all in the Clásico."

"Physical exhaustion isn't a determining factor, but it weighs heavily on the locker room, as the players are aware that they're going to face an opponent who will be fresher," they add. Madrid's defensive problems could equalize that factor, but while Carlo Ancelotti 's team sees victory as an opportunity, Flick's team sees it as a necessity, and "necessity can lead to a blockage."

After three wins this season over Madrid and two titles (Super Cup and Copa del Rey), Sunday's match will be the fourth Clásico. Neither team has achieved a clean sweep when they've met four or more times, although a draw would maintain Barcelona's four-point lead. "The match is a definitive test of maturity for a generation that has proven it can compete, as it did in the Copa del Rey," concludes one of the experts. First, they must overcome their vertigo.