Dean Huijsen says Real Madrid ready for Champions League and Barcelona tests

Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen says his side are prepared for a significant week, with a Champions League fixture on Wednesday followed by a meeting with Barcelona.

Real Madrid go into those challenges in good spirits after recording a 4-1 victory over Sevilla in the ninth round of La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“We are in good shape now and excited about what is to come,” Huijsen told Real Madrid’s television channel. “We know we have a Champions League match on Wednesday and we are taking things step by step. Then we will face Barcelona. It is an important week for us.”

Kylian Mbappe scored twice against Sevilla, while Arda Guler and Yan Diomande were also on target. Sevilla’s only goal was scored by Manuel Sebastian.

The result lifted Real Madrid to 21 points and third place in La Liga. Sevilla remain on 14 points in sixth.

Huijsen also spoke about the advantage of playing at home, describing the Santiago Bernabeu as a historic stadium.

“It is natural that everyone prefers to play at home,” he said. “The Santiago Bernabeu is historic and it is wonderful to play here.”

Diomande reached another milestone during the match. He provided an assist in two successive games in all competitions for the first time in his career in Europe’s major leagues.

The 19-year-old, aged 19 years and 338 days, also became the first player under 20 in the 21st century to score and assist in the same La Liga match for Real Madrid.

That surpassed the previous record held by Jude Bellingham, who achieved the feat at the age of 20 years and 51 days.

Looking ahead to Real Madrid’s Champions League campaign, Huijsen said collecting nine points would put the team in a strong position to finish among the competition’s top eight after the league phase.

“If we reach nine points in the Champions League, I think that will be slightly above the average number of points required to finish the league phase among the top eight teams,” he added. “So it can be said that we have one foot inside the qualifying places.”