Espanyol boss Rubi says his side want to ‘make history’ when they face Barcelona in the Catalan Derbi on Saturday.
Espanyol go into the encounter just seven points behind Barca, and Rubi warned his side were ‘up for the challenge’ of becoming the first Periquitos side to beat the Blaugrana at Cornella-El Prat in La Liga.
“This Espanyol want to make history,” the Coach said at a Press conference.
“These players want to be the first to beat Barca at our stadium in the League. They’re up for the challenge.
“If we don’t play like we did against Getafe, it’s going to be a very close Derbi and we’ll have a chance of winning it. We have to exploit our style and give some surprises.
"We want to have the ball, although we know it’ll be tough because of the difficulty of taking it off Barca.
“Still, there are also things we’ve prepared to overcome those moments when we don’t have it.
“We can’t be obsessed with a player or team we’re facing. What we have to do is be the team we want to be, and we haven’t done that in our last few games.
“We’ve strengthened many aspects of our defensive work in the last few days because we’ve conceded too many goals.
“We’re also in a phase where we’re not supporting Borja Iglesias enough. Our midfielders, wingers and forwards have to help because we can’t depend on the success of one player.
“To have scored 37 goals in 14 games is spectacular. They’ve only lost two games and our opponents are like they always are: formidable.
“Messi doesn’t only score goals, he assists them too and is surrounded by great players. The key is not only stopping him but also carrying out our game plan.”
