Rafael van der Vaart discussed how important it was to see how much the fans support the team following today’s open-door training session and the Dutchman stressed the magnitude of this weekend’s match against Racing.

"We want to play against Barcelona as the top team in the table"

Open-door training session:

I love when people come watch us because it creates such a good atmosphere. There are always good vibes whether fans are present or not, but it is nice to be able to share it when them.

Clasico:

Our next opponent is Racing, and that is the only team we have in mind right now. It is an important match because it won’t be easy playing them on their home turf. We can start talking about Barcelona if we beat them.

Title hopes:

We need to win a lot of matches if we want to win La Liga. Winning in Sunday is very important because we want to play against Barcelona as the top team in the table.

Kaka and Benzema:

Kaka has almost made a full recovery. We will see how he progresses next week. Karim Benzema is also an important player to us and he is improving on a daily basis. He will be of great help once he is back in form.

His situation with the team:

I feel good right now and want to continue playing as I have been over the last two weeks. I think we are on the right track and we need to continue playing as we have been.

Xabi and Sergio Ramos:

This team is full of talent. Xabi Alonso and Ramos are very important, but we have plenty of other players who can fill in to help beat Racing.