The Liga leaders restored their four-point advantage over their great rivals by beating Eibar 3-0 at Camp Nou, with Lionel Messi moving to within one goal of the all-time Spanish top-flight record of 251 after earlier strikes from Xavi and Neymar. The build-up to the first season of the Clasico has already begun but Mascherano insists that Luis Enrique's men are solely concentrating on Tuesday's visit of Ajax.
"The pressure against Madrid is always the same – we’ll be playing our big rival," the Argentine told reporters after Saturday's win over Eibar.
"But we mustn’t forget Atletico either. We thought they would slip up last year, but they took the title in the end.
"So, the most important game is always the next one, because if you win, that changes the next one.
"We need to win against Ajax and go into the next game [against Real] with confidence."
For the Eibar clash, Mascherano was restored to the midfield role he regularly played before being converted into a defender by former Barca boss Pep Guardiola and the ex-Liverpool ace had a fine game in the Blaugrana engine room.
“I’m very happy to have played in the middle," he admitted. "I enjoyed it and it’s quite a while since I’ve played in that role for Barça.
"Everyone knows their role here and I’m here to help wherever I play.
“But we’re just happy with the win, though after a victory you also need to look at things that need improving too.
"The fact that we didn’t score till the second half shows that we can be patient.
"We are playing with intensity throughout and that means that the other team get tired – we don’t need to desperately chase a goal."
Barca have now won seven of their eight Liga games so far this season, drawing the other, but will be desperate for three points against Ajax after losing to Paris Saint-Germain in their last Champions League outing.
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