El Clásico
El Clásico
Real Madrid arrived as favourites to beat Barcelona and cut down the distance to the current leaders of the Spanish Liga BBVA, but shortly after the game started, they were already trailing by 0-1. The ghosts that have been pursuing us for more than five years now started to wander around the Santiago Bernabéu once again, but our players never lost the concentration and were able to dispel them with a great performance.
The lineups
Real Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Modric (Arbeloa, 88'), James, Isco (Illarramendi, 83'); Ronaldo, Benzema (Khedira, 86').
FC Barcelona: Bravo; Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Mathieu; Busquets, Xavi (Rakitic, 59'), Iniesta (Sergi Roberto, 71'); Neymar, Messi, Suárez (Pedro, 68').
The first half
The blaugranes started the game with the most Guardiolesque setup they could have used. With Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta in the middle, it was quite clear that they wanted to keep the control of the ball and put Real Madrid to sleep with their long possessions. The providence smiled at them by conceding them the chance to score in their first approach to Real Madrid's goal, and Neymar did not fail. The game had barely started and Barcelona were already on the lead.
Perhaps in a different time our players would have lost control of the situation but, today, they did not. They had a very clear idea of what they needed to do to, and they just stuck to their plan hoping that, eventually, they would be able to materialize their superiority. With a very similar game to the one they displayed in Liverpool, los Blancos were able to subdue their rivals and their goal chances started to arrive easily.
By the twentieth minute, Real Madrid could have scored three times: a shot to the post by Benzema, and two long shots by Kroos and Ronaldo that made Bravo do his best to keep Barcelona's lead, were indicators that Real Madrid were close to equalizing. The blaugranes had the control of the ball, but they were hardly ever able to reach Real Madrid's box. In their only clear shot, by Messi, Casillas appeared with a brilliant intervention to deflect the ball.
Real Madrid increased their intensity once again, and after complaining about a penalty kick the referee did not call, they were awarded with another because Piqué cut out a ball with his hand. Cristiano Ronaldo, full of confidence, shot to his favourite spot and got the equalizer. After that, FC Barcelona were broken and they seemed to be just waiting for the break. James had a great chance to score with a header that went out by milimeters, and so the game was paused with 1-1 in the scoreboard.
The second half
Los Blancos had smelled the blood and they came back with the clear intention to win the game, no matter what, no matter how. With great intensity, they pushed Barcelona's players against their backline and, five minutes later, they got their reward, as Claudio Bravo was not able to stop a great header by Pepe after a corner kick thrown in by Toni Kroos.
The second goal made Real Madrid display their best football today. In a disadvantageous situation, Luis Enrique's men needed to focus on offensive tasks and, as a result, their defensive concentration diminished. Real Madrid's 4-4-2 was working perfectly to keep the culés far from Casillas and the counterattack threat was always there. In fact, it was a counterattack what led to Real Madrid's third goal. A defective corner kick by Barça led to a beautiful run by Isco who, after dribbling a couple of rivals, gave the ball to Ronaldo. He could have shot but, wisely, he decided to pass it to James, who assisted Benzema. The French notched up Real's third goal via a gentle shot that hit the post before going in.
There were still thirty minutes remaining, but the game was over. Real Madrid exaggerated their retreat towards their own goal to avoid Barcelona's onslaughts and try to catch a new counterattack that never arrived, but our rivals did not really have any clear chance of scoring. Illarramendi, Arbeloa and Khedira entered the field and were lucky to be part of the party.
With this victory, Real Madrid have cut the advantage Barcelona have on the league table to just one point, but, most importantly, they have proved themselves (and anyone else) that they are, right now, the superior side. This should cause an animic boost in the team that could yield a great improvement in the team which is, right now, the one that displays the best football in Europe.