Luka Modric shifts focus to Clasico

Luka Modric was delighted to see Real Madrid progress through to the semi-finals of the Champions League but has immediately shifted his focus to Sunday’s Clasico against Barcelona.

Los Blancos booked their place in the semi-finals of Europe’s premier club competition for a seventh successive season after seeing off Bayern Munich 6-3 on aggregate, although they needed extra time to secure their progress.

Croatia international Modric was pleased to see his side reach the last four and now believes they are more than capable of defending the title they won in Milan last May.

“We’re happy to have got through to the semi-finals and now we need to take one game at a time to see if we can successfully defend our title for the first time in the competition’s history,” he said.

However, the 31-year-old wants to put the Champions League on the back burner for the time being, as his main focus is Real’s La Liga clash with fierce rivals Barcelona at the Bernabeu this weekend.

“We face another big game on Sunday. Winning that one would be very significant in our bid to take the LaLiga title,” he added.

“We need to rest up if we’re going to perform well in that game and let’s hope there’s the same atmosphere as there was on Tuesday.”

Real are currently three points above Barca at the top of the La Liga standings and a victory would significantly boost their chances of claiming a first league crown in five years.

Zinedine Zidane’s men are priced at 2.15 to win the match, while Barcelona are available at 3.20 and the draw is on offer at 3.80.