2–0
So that was the game. In wake of the defeat against arch rivals Real Madrid, I’ve taken a step back to re-evaluate what went wrong for the visitors. First and foremost, is it appropriate to call the blaugrana the “visitors”? After all, this was a Catalan side that had manage to win the past few Clásicos in Madrid.
You think back to the scores after each ninety minutes had ended in the Santiago Bernabéu, and it would not be very flattering for los Blancos. 4–0 with that Suárez brace. 3–2, last minute Messi winner. 3–0, revenge for that Supercopa loss. 3–0 again, Copa del Rey. 1–0 a few days after that and then even later, Ajax took the flamethrower from Barcelona’s hand to burn Real. Having seen scores overwhelmingly in favour of the Catalan boys, you’d think that Barcelona could genuinely come and win this game. Humiliate Real even.
I always say that in soccer, context is extremely important. The context here is about who’d be at the top of the league. Barcelona could extend their lead at the top if they beat second-placed Real Madrid, whilst los Blancos could reclaim top spot from the blaugranas if they themselves won. Well, the latter happened. If it was added motivation, Real had something to prove. The spanking from Man City at home was bad enough, and if they were to scrap something from this season, it would realistically have to be the league title. So yeah, it was imperative to beat FC Barcelona.
I won’t delve too much into the tactics of this game, but from Barça’s point of view, it certainly was a game of two halves. The first half was strong, and I can recall maybe three clear cut chances squandered by Griezmann, Arthur and Messi respectively. Imagine this. 3–0 up against Real Madrid going into half-time. Quique Setién would be on cloud nine.
Second half came. It was evident that in the first half, Real purposely conceded possession to Barcelona, perhaps acknowledging Napoli’s defence against the same visitors. Now, Real Madrid upped a gear. Of course, no one can match Barcelona for possession, though the white shirts were slowly starting to threaten. It’s exaggerating to say that Vinícius Júnior carried his team, yet his flank definitely posed the most threat. 71st minute. Boom, goal for Vinícius. It always felt like whichever side scored the first goal would go on to win the game. There you go. Scoring twenty minutes from time made life easier for Real. Sit back and defend very Napoli-esque? Wait for a mistake and score the second. All of that was fulfilled when substitute Mariano scored the second goal following some cheap defending from the centre backs. Done.
Where does this leave both teams? Honestly, it’s not the end for Barcelona in terms of the league title. They are one point off the new La Liga leaders and they’ll be praying for those guys to mess up somewhere in the remaining thirteen fixtures. This win for Real could kickstart their rhythm, with a win in Manchester required for any aspirations in the Champions League. It’s not going to be easy, but seeing off Barcelona right now is definitely a good stepping stone. That said, the blaugrana will rue the missed chances in that first half.
This game will not be remembered as a Messi masterclass or a masterclass by anyone at all. To be fair, Real Madrid played better when it was necessary and that won them the game and three points. Their losing El Clásico home streak is finally broken and it will be interesting to see how the top two progress.
