- Barcelona lost 2-1 to Real Madrid
- Gundogan urged for more intensity
- Deco played down the incident
WHAT HAPPENED? The German midfielder was on target against Los Blancos in his first Clasico but could prevent his side from going down to their eternal rivals in the opening derby of the season due to some heroics from Jude Bellingham.
Following the defeat, Gundogan could not keep his calm and hit out at the squad while urging them "to express more emotions when you lose". However, Deco did his best to play down the comments and insisted that the situation is under control.
WHAT THEY SAID: “Everything is settled, it’s internal things and everything is calm,” he told reporters.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Barcelona manager, Xavi, echoed the sentiments of Deco and claimed that the mentality and morale of the squad remains strong, while agreeing with Gundogan that the Clasico defeat was one of their own making.
“The word conformity is not part of Barça’s DNA. We are for excellence. We have not seen Gundo’s words as controversial, we agree with what he said. We lost the Clasico due to our mistakes. There has been no controversy in the dressing room," he said.
"We have a very healthy and very kind dressing room. The attitude has never failed and I am happy with everyone’s work and willingness. I have never had to criticise their attitude. Maximum pressure, it’s welcome. The team is hungry.
"He (Gundogan) expressed the anger that we all had inside, nothing else. We were all angry. It comes down to culture. Any one of us could have said it, this is cultural. He comes from a different culture compared to ours. If you see Bayern’s defeat the other day, Muller came out and criticised. In the dressing room, there has been no controversy."
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT? Gundogan and Barca will be looking to bounce back against Real Sociedad on Saturday evening.