The first El Clasico of the season ended in typically combative fashion, with Pedri getting his 2nd yellow card for a cavalier lunge on Tchouameni.
The incident sparked the type of mass touchline brawl that has become commonplace in football’s biggest soap opera. Real Madrid emerged victorious in the end, with the 2-1 scoreline flattering Hansi Flick’s Barcelona. The result gives Real a healthy five-point lead and left Flick with some serious soul-searching. For the health of the league, I hope that Barca can get their act together and apply some pressure to Alonso’s men. Let’s be frank, Real have barely hit their stride this season. I have decided to focus on a few key reasons why Barca looked so insipid on Sunday (especially considering their dominance in last season’s perennial grudge-matches).
Barca’s injuries caught up to them
Barca have endured a torrid injury record in these opening stages of the season and were always going to struggle for coherence against a more settled Real unit. Sure, the likes of Yamal and Fermin Lopez have recovered in recent weeks. But Barca still had major absentees on Sunday, with the likes of Raphinha, Lewandowski and Olmo missing out. Gavi- a long-term absentee- is an unsung hero of the side and has been terribly missed in the heart of midfield. He and Pedri are the de-facto Xaviesta of this generation, knitting together everything while the more expansive players get all the glory.
High Line to insanity
In sport, there is sometimes a thin line between bravery and idiocy. Flick has straddled the line during his tenure as Barca manager, pushing his defensive line into some occasionally absurd positions. Sunday was not the right occasion to be playing with such unchecked hubris. Mbappe and Vini Jr are probably the two most dangerous players in the world when it comes to exploiting space. Moreover, Barca’s threadbare squad has robbed them of some of the tools that make them capable of pressing in such psychotic areas of the pitch. Gavi is supreme in possession, able to retain the ball in tight spaces. Lewandowski’s incredible holdup play is also an integral component to their brand of possession-based football. Honestly, Flick should have instructed his side to play more on the counterattack. I would have denied Mbappe and Vini Jr space, inviting them into more advanced areas while exploiting the undeniable pace they have in Yamal and Rashford.
The Yamal problem
Lamine Yamal has been battling pubalgia, a chronic groin condition that has seriously affected his mobility. With that in mind- why did the 18-year-old Spanish wunderkind have to mouth off on the eve of the match, essentially calling Real’s integrity into question? The trash-talking galvanized the Bernabeau crowd, turning Yamal into the pantomime villain of the piece. And I don’t think Barca, with their injury issues and (more importantly) Yamal’s condition, needed that kind of heat. Yamal was anonymous all evening, ending the game with the lowest pass-completion percentage of all the players who started. Sure, he’s a talismanic playmaker who isn’t playing Elneny-ball. But he still looked uniquely sloppy in possession and needs to learn how to conduct himself as a senior member of this squad (it’s easy to forget he’s still only 18).
One ray of light for the Barca
Who would have thought, a few weeks back, that we would be looking at Marcus Rashford as one of Barca’s Clasico bright spots? But in a world where Man United currently lead Liverpool in the Premier League standings: anything is possible. Rashford was a constant threat on the left-hand wing, linking up telepathically with the advancing Alejandro Balde. He picked up his 5th assist of the La Liga campaign, perfectly sliding in Fermin Lopez for that 38th minute equalizer. Rashford has been one of the chief beneficiaries of Barca’s injury crisis, gaining plenty of minutes while offering Flick a lovely alternative to their tika-taka stylistics.
