Immediate Reaction: Real Madrid 0 - 1 Barcelona, Copa rel Rey semi-finals, 2022 - 2023

Real Madrid 0 - 1 Barcelona (Militao OG). Here’s our quick reaction at the final whistle. Still to come: Player ratings, post-game podcast, post-game quotes, stats breakdown, and a ton more.

It was a disappointing night at the Bernabeu for everyone in attendance and all Madridistas watching from around the world. This seemed to be a night where Real Madrid could finally give Barcelona — coming off two loses and without three of their best players — a big blow. But Carlo Ancelotti’s men couldn’t, and despite having lots of the ball, they were unable to capitalize against Barcelona’s low block.

This was a strange Clasico in many ways. Real Madrid had Barcelona on the ropes for the first 20 minutes — keeping a high line and holding the ball in Barcelona’s half. They had momentum, and Barcelona couldn’t escape their half. But in one moment, the thin margin of error was proven: Eduardo Camavinga gave the ball away in midfield and Franck Kessie got on the end of a break, forcing Eder Militao into an own goal:

The match continued in similar fashion for the entirety of the game. Real Madrid kept the ball, and as the game wore on, Barcelona went deeper and deeper into a low block, forming a defensive shell that was impenetrable. Real Madrid couldn’t create any clear cut chances apart from hitting crosses and praying.

Barcelona, in the mean time, threatened sporadically on counter-attacks a couple times.

We will break this down much more extensively in the coming hours. The link to the Zoom post-game podcast can be found here.