Barcelona welcomed Real Madrid to Camp Nou in search of another La Liga win over one of their fiercest rivals, but it was the 10-men of the visitors who emerged the happiest with a 2-1 victory. Zinedine Zidane will be delighted to have closed the gap on Barca with a well thought-out game-plan to topple Luis Enrique’s men, but it was a real turn up for the books as it was the Catalan outfit who were tipped as the clear favourites heading into this one.
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An enthralling duel between two feisty combatants, it was a real spectacle to behold and it has now cast at least a little doubt on where the La Liga crown will end up once the season draws to a close as Barca’s 39-game unbeaten streak was cruelly brought to an end.
So, let’s take a tactical look at how Madrid managed to earn all three points and why the Blaugrana couldn’t capitalise on home advantage.
Barcelona fail to capitalise on clear-cut chances
From as early as the 10th minute, Barcelona began to flex their muscles in possession of the ball, but they simply couldn’t make their offensive flair count. An early opportunity presented itself after a goal-kick wound its way into the path of Neymar Jr. and it was his jinking turns and vision that allowed the time and space to set up Luis Suarez with a nicely-weighted pass only to see the Uruguayan international spurn the chance completely.
It was a sign of things to come.
Again, in the 19th minute it was a double threat from Suarez and Ivan Rakitic that caused problems for Los Blancos’ defence after a breakdown in Madrid play allowed the Croatian international to pick the ball up 35 yards from goal before playing the ball to the former Liverpool man. The pass-in rebounded to Rakitic but his effort was palmed away to safety.
A lot was expected of the attacking trident that is ‘MSN’ and although they saw a lot of the ball in the opening 45 minutes, they simply couldn’t force an impact on the scoreboard. The Camp Nou was in uproar when Lionel Messi looked to have been fouled by Sergio Ramos inside the opening 20 minutes on the edge of the 18-yard box after weaving his way toward goal, but the referee ignored the claims for a foul.
That particular decision didn’t go their way, but the hosts were on top and they weren’t sticking away their chances – so they can’t really dwell on the officiating decisions that went against them too much because they should have had the match wrapped up before half time. Nevertheless, the home crowd were happy in the opening stages to see the attacking threats open up their opponents’ defence, but their wasteful mentality really came back to haunt them as they wound up chasing a game they really should have won with ease.
The chances dried up following the restart and it took a piece of genius from Messi to test Keylor Navas with a floated curler that the keeper just about managed to tip away to safety.
After all, much of the build-up insisted on a home win to pretty much seal the title, but the reality proved a bit too unfortunate for the expectant home fans.
Madrid’s Casemiro proves pivotal to victory
As expected, Casemiro had a vital role to play in deciding this El Clasico. Parked in front of the defence, it was his duty to control the danger that came between the lines, and he performed his duties to an impeccably high level. Alive to the movements of the likes of Andres Iniesta and Rakitic, he also tracked the runs in-field of Lionel Messi and company.
Whenever his own team-mates flooded forward, it was Casemiro who sat back, watching and waiting as the action unfolded in front of him. When the attacks broke down, as they often did, he was there to put pressure on the break-away Blaugrana contingent. If he was unable to get a leg in to knock the ball away, or if he couldn’t clearly dispossess the charging runners, he would pressure them, hassle them and get on top to frustrate and annoy.
It was a utility role, but he performed it beautifully. As outlined by Squawka, he was outstanding in the air, too, and chipped in with more than a handful of good tackles.
His one-man display proved to be a catalystic one and with the tempo set, his fellow Madridistas were able to join in with some nifty pressing that worked a treat when done in unison, as Luka Modric and Toni Kroos instigated a periodical press higher up the pitch.
Even the often criticised Cristiano Ronaldo pulled his weight defensively, working tirelessly to track back and provide an extra body of cover at key stages. It was a real wake-up call for Enrique’s charges who couldn’t find a way to counteract the dogged display of one of their fiercest rivals.
Truthfully, Madrid were always going to be on the backfoot in this one, but Zidane got his tactics spot on throughout and earned some high praise from Thierry Henry of Sky Sports:
They were trying to play from the back under pressure and they looked like a team with the right balance. Zidane understood he had to take care of the midfield, especially against Barcelona. People wanted to know if tactically he could do something against Barcelona and he did.
The decision to give one guy so much to do could have back-fired on the Algeria-born manager, especially with so much talent on the field, but it worked a treat and Zizou deserves praise for being so brave and tactically astute.
Counter-attacking visitors pounced when it mattered
With the battle of the midfield running smoothly as Los Merengues continued to squeeze the space where Barcelona needed it most, it was up to their attackers to do their part if they wanted to come away with an unlikely victory.
Sure enough, two-thirds of the ‘BBC’ were tuned in to the same wavelength and they broadcasted some of their best football at precisely the right times of the encounter.
That didn’t arrive until after Gerard Pique’s opening goal in the 56th minute with a well-placed header after a corner was floated in, but instead of really spurring them to go on and grab another, their normally daredevil attackers withdrew a little into an austere shell and that was when Zidane saw the opportunity to allow his tactics have a positive impact on the scoreboard.
As the home side knocked the ball around with nonchalance, an uncharacteristic stray pass allowed the 10-time Champions League winners the opportunity they had been waiting for as they pounced on the counter attack. Pass after pass meant the ball found its way to the feet of Marcelo and his surging burst of pace saw him slip past a few players before shifting the ball to Kroos whose cross found Benzema who made no mistake from close range with an acrobatic finish.
With the impetus behind them, this really became their match, and although their deep-lying shape tempted trouble at times, they were good enough to hold out as Ronaldo popped up to score what proved to be the winner.
In the end, this was a tale of a match that was won from the tactics board. Madrid knew what they had to do and they executed that plan perfectly. As for Barcelona, they really let themselves down and will be infuriated they didn’t pre-empt the shackle-inducing football employed by their duellists and, indeed, that they didn’t put on more of a show.
