MERCADO: “IT'S UP TO US TO GIVE OURSELVES A CHANCE OF WINNING”

Gabriel Mercado is targetting six points from Sevilla's remaining two LaLiga games ahead of Sunday's encounter with Real Madrid.

The Argentine defender believes that Sevilla's performances against Zinedine Zidane's side this season give reason for hope in the race for third place.

"We've played well against them twice this season so we've got a chance. It's up to us to be confident and sure in ourselves, and have to desire to play well against them to give ourselves a chance of winning," he told Sevilla Fútbol Club Radio.

"They're in the fight for the league title and they won't gift us anything, but we're fighting for Champions League qualification.

"We'll go there with everything we've got and we'll fight to produce a good performance to finish the season strongly."

"While there's hope, we'll keep fighting"

The 30-year-old has not lost sight of third place in LaLiga, with Sevilla five points adrift of Atlético Madrid.

"We'll fight as long as it's possible. It won't be easy, but while there's hope we'll keep fighting. 

"If there's the slightest chance, we have to take six points. It would be essential to win on Sunday. 

"We're working towards that, we're training well to be on top of our game. We know that they're tough opposition, but we have things to play for and we have to fight for them.

And the first task is to wrap up fourth place to ensure that the work the team have done "has been worth it. We value it, but we’re left with the feeling that by changing some matches that got away from us, today we’d have other expectations or a greater points tally which would have given us a chance to stay third.

You remember Leganés, Gijón, Villarreal, Real Sociedad without going any further… we deserved to have got the points and today we’d be there.

But you also see the teams above us and that they drop very few points. There aren't many matches where they draw or lose and keeping up that pace isn’t easy.”

"The work we’ve done this year is more than positive"

However, Mercado added that “if when the league started we were told that with two matches left we could secure the Champions League with a point, we’d take it.

And that’s very positive too, it says a lot about the great work we’ve done and the demands we’re putting on ourselves. The work we’ve done this year is more than positive.”

On a personal note, the defender confirmed that he hadn’t “made a mistake when I came here to Sevilla. We’re very at home, happy to have taken that decision, eager to keep improving and working.

Hopefully we’ll continue on this path and good things will happen for the club and for me.”