Messi: At the Bernabeu Barcelona play Real Madrid as equals Barcelona Discussed the Clasico with MARCA

Barcelona host Real Madrid on Wednesday in this season's first Clasico and Lionel Messi has explained why his team tend to perform better at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu than at the Camp Nou.

The Argentine has indicated that the game is usually more open at their rivals' ground than in Barcelona, as Los Blancos are urged to attack in front of their fans.

In an interview for MARCA, Messi discussed the upcoming derby, the criticism Zinedine Zidane faced at the start of the season and whether Eden Hazard can fill in Cristiano Ronaldo's boots.

Q. Notwithstanding Barcelona's 5-1 win last season, why are you better against Real Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu than at the Camp Nou?

A. When we play at the Bernabeu, many more spaces are generated. They attack us more because they have the obligation as the host team and people push them for that. At the Camp Nou they play another type of match, sitting a little further back, they are closer together and hit on the counter-attack because they have very fast players upfront. At the Bernabeu we play 90 minutes equally. Here the game becomes more locked and is more complicated.

Q. Are you surprised that Zinedine Zidane has received so much criticism at the beginning of the season after everything he won with Madrid?

A. It's surprising, but those of us who have been in [football] for a long time, and even more in big clubs, know that this is normal. People forget very quickly what happened and was achieved in the past and demand you [deliver] day-by-day.

Zidane surely knew when he returned that the three Champions League trophies he had won no longer mattered and [the fans] were going to demand [in the same way] as they did on his first day. Coaches and players of the great teams know that we are continuously in the spotlight and living with this [pressure].

Q. Do you think Eden Hazard has the ability to cover the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo and become Real Madrid's superstar?

A. Hazard has a lot of quality. He is a different football player who can unbalance [defences], but I think he is different to Cristiano, with different characteristics. It is very difficult to replace Cristiano, but Hazard is also a great player.

Q. What do you think when you see that some teammates who were always important in the team, or including yourself sometimes, start on the bench, rest or even get replaced in the middle of the game?

A. Actually I think we are very important. There are times when it's another teammate's turn to play and I think you have to take it in the best possible way, being aware that the most important thing is that everyone in the dressing room feels important, because we need everyone motivated to achieve the targets.