Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona: 5 Talking Points | LaLiga 2019-20 

#2 Zinedine Zidane gets vindicated

Real Madrid CF v FC Barcelona - La Liga

Despite all he has achieved in a relatively short spell in the dugout, there are many who do not rate Zinedine Zidane highly as a coach, opining that the 47-year-old was simply a beneficiary of the greatness of Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, nothing could be further from the truth and the Frenchman is actually a more astute tactician than people give him credit for and this much was evident in the clash with Barcelona.

Harrowing losses to Levante and Manchester City threatened to derail Real Madrid's season and the game against the Blaugrana was seen as a defining one for their manager.

With Quique Setien electing to go with four midfielders, Zidane countered this by matching the Catalans, with Isco drifting between the flanks and occupying the hole behind Karim Benzema and Vinicius.

This proved to be an excellent decision and the former Malaga man was unarguably one of the best performers in a white shirt, with his linkup play with Benzema fashioning a number of chances, while he also provided the best attacking contributions prior to Real Madrid's opener.

Another contentious decision Zidane made was starting the maligned Marcelo in place of the in-form Ferland Mendy and it was again a stroke of genius, with the Brazilian playing a major role in ensuring that Real Madrid's high press limited Barcelona's ability to play out from the back and forced them into numerous errors.

The left-back also contributed defensively to further justify Zidane's decision, while Mariano Diaz came off the bench to put the nail in the coffin of Barcelona in what was his coach's last act of the game.