Barcelona duo Frenkie de Jong and Jules Kounde make feelings clear about facing Real Madrid in Copa del Rey final

Barcelona duo Frenkie de Jong and Jules Kounde have previewed their side's mouth-watering clash against Real Madrid in the final of the Copa del Rey. The Blaugrana and Los Blancos are scheduled to meet in the decider on April 26 after overcoming Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad in the semi-finals, respectively.

After an end-to-end first-leg clash against Atletico that ended 4-4 (February 25), Barca had to secure an away victory at the Metropolitano to win the tie outright. Spanish forward Ferran Torres' strike (27') was the solitary goal in the second leg, sealing a 5-4 aggregate win for Hansi Flick's side.

Real Madrid's win over Sociedad went the other way around, as a quiet 1-0 win in the first leg (February 26) was followed by a 4-4 thriller in the reverse fixture (April 1). With a 4-3 scoreline in the Basque side's favour after 90 minutes, a 115th-minute goal from Antonio Rudiger sealed an outright win for the Merengues (5-4 on aggregate).

After the win over Atletico, De Jong and Kounde spoke about the importance of the match-up against Real in the final. While they acknowledged their opponents' quality, they remained quietly confident about their own side's chances.

The French defender said (via Barca Universal h/t Mundo Deportivo):

"It motivates us because it's a Clasico; it always has a special flavor. We know it's a dangerous game, a great team, and I'm sure they'll give it their all."

The Dutch midfielder claimed:

"A Barca-Madrid match is always special. It's always a game in which both teams can win, regardless of the situation the teams are in."

"There's still a long way to go" - Star midfielder Frenkie de Jong makes claim about Barcelona's treble chances

Although his side beat Atletico Madrid to set up a Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid, midfield star Frenkie de Jong has claimed that Barcelona are a long way from thinking about a potential treble.

Having amassed 66 points in 29 games, Barca currently sit three points clear of archrivals Real Madrid atop the LaLiga standings. They are also in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, in which they are set to take on German giants Borussia Dortmund (April 9 and 15).

With Real on the opposite side of the bracket from Hansi Flick's side in Europe's premier club competition, the first-ever El Clasico match-up in a UCL final is potentially on the cards. However, De Jong has refused to get too far ahead of himself, claiming that his side have to stay laser-focused to turn their treble dreams into reality.

Speaking after Barcelona's 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday (April 2), the 27-year-old said (via Barca Universal):

"We're not close, there's still a long way to go, and we're not thinking about that. We're thinking about winning matches to get titles, but I think there's a lot of the season left, and we shouldn't talk until we've won."

Up next, Barcelona will be seen in action in their upcoming LaLiga fixture against Real Betis on Saturday (April 5).