This is not the end, Abidal warns Barca

Dubai: Eric Abidal has warned Barcelona not to get complacent following their convincing Clasico 3-0 win over La Liga rivals Real Madrid.

Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal scored as unbeaten Barca opened a 14-point lead over the champions, who had Dani Carvajal sent off.

But former Camp Nou star Abidal, who lifted the Uefa Champions League trophy twice with Barcelona, said nothing is done yet in the Liga title race.

Speaking to Gulf News ahead of the 12th Dubai International Sports Conference, Abidal said: “The Clasico every year is different. You cannot compare the teams from my time and the teams now.

“For sure to win these very important matches is crucial. You always have important key players. Yesterday it was Messi and Suarez. Many years ago it was Ronaldo and Benzema. Today I am very happy because Barcelona won this match but it is not the end.

“It is the most important match but the season is still long.

“You can win the derby but at the end you remember who wins the title.

“They have to be careful and have to work and try to reach the goal at the end of the season.”

Many critics saying the race is over as the Spanish league heads into its winter break. But Abidal stressed that Barca need to come backing the New Year prepared to close the deal.

“It is a great win and now they get a chance to rest. But through experience, you can have a big gap. Real Madrid is a huge club and have a good team. If you make some mistake they can be right behind you and put some pressure. So you have to be focused and work hard and win all the matches to come. Then we will see if we talk about Real Madrid or not.”

When asked what the secret is to Barca’s success this season, Abidal added: “It’s no secret. When you play for Barcelona, you have to say at the beginning of the season: ‘I want to win the title.’ You can’t say: ‘I try to will do my best.’ This club will always demand the same goals, to win all the titles..

“They know the way is long and very difficult, some players want to move because they sit on the bench but the club has to find the right balance.”

Abidal’s former coach Pep Guardiola is now breaking records with Manchester City in the Premier League in England.

A 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth made it 17 wins on the spin for City in the Premier League and Abidal reckons that they are now up there with the giants of Europe.

“I remember when Pep signed for City, the rules were totally different and you need a good recipe for success.

“He made some changes, bringing in players like Kevin de Bruyne. City now are very strong. This difference is now new in England. If you asked any of the players at City they will say they are very happy to have Guardiola as manager because every day the training is amazing.

“City are now one of the best teams in Europe. But that is not enough. You can win and win, but until you have the trophy you have nothing.

“All the big clubs are watching now. They score a lot of goals and give something new. After they win trophies we can talk about the best team in Europe.

“For sure, all the big teams fear City now. It is not enough to turn up and play when you see what they are doing.”

With powerhouses such as Barca, Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich now having to contend with City and big-spending Paris St-Germain, Abidal is relishing a Champions League knockout phase unlike any other so far.

“This year is the best year of the Champions League, I think,” he said. “This draw is the best teams. Every team is difficult. As I said you can have records but the Champions League is different. You have to win the trophy. That is the logic.”