La Liga: All players know it’s a special game, says Espanyol’s Raul de Tomas ahead of Barcelona derby

ANI |
Updated: Feb 09, 2022 13:41 IST

Barcelona [Spain], February 9 (ANI): Espanyol striker Raul de Tomas ahead of the La Liga clash against FC Barcelona said all the players are aware of how special the derby is.
Espanyol is all set to host Barcelona in the derby on February 14 at RCDE Stadium. Barca are currently sitting at the fourth on the table from 22 matches while Espanyol is at 13 position, having played 23 matches.
Ahead of the derby, Raul de Tomas said: “All the players know it’s a special game. We are all well aware of how much it means to the club and the fans. It would be great to win this game, especially for our fans. We are the two big teams in the city, and of course there’s a fierce rivalry between us. But if you are positive and work hard then rivalry can motivate you in a way no other game can.”

“Vicente Moreno is the captain of the ship, there’s no question about that. We listen to what he says, we try and carry out his ideas in training and games,” he added.
Talking about the team’s and personal objectives, the striker shared: “Bearing in mind where we came from our main aim at the start of the season was obviously to stay up. But, I know we have got a winning mentality to finish as high up the table as possible. My personal objective is to get as many goals as I can and in that way help us finish as high up the table as possible.”
Barca will have confidence by their side when they will visit Espanyol as they defeated Atletico Madrid 4-2 which allowed them to move into the top four and Champions League qualification as their run of good results continued. Goals from Jordi Alba, Gavi, Araujo, and Dani Alves gave coach Xavi Hernandez good reason to be in a celebratory mood.
While Espanyol will loke to make a comeback after their 1-2 defeat against Bilbao on Tuesday. (ANI)