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There are many footballing rivalries that have gone down the history books but few ever come even close to the high voltage El-Clasico, aka Real Madrid v/s Barcelona. Real Madrid hosted their bitter rivals in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on a Thursday night reaching the crescendo of emotions. On one hand stood a confident Barca side that has been on fire this season already, having amassed a lead of 15 points over Real. On the other side was a manager right under the proverbial axe facing the challenge of getting his hands on at least one trophy in a season that already looks lost.
The result?
A close 1-1 draw.
TEAMS
Real Madrid
Barcelona
REAL PRESS HARD
Real’s aggressive defending at its best!
The very first thing that was obvious right from the start was that Real Madrid were looking to fight fire with fire. Unlike other teams who tend to defend deep against the Catalans, Mourinho’s instructions were to press every Barcelona player and make it harder for them to make their passes. With the passes not coming, the ball eventually came back right into the Barca defence and with Real’s pressing, they would ultimately have to make a risky pass up front.
Note how any Barca player on the ball immediately gets surrounded to cut off his passing options.
Another aspect that emerged from the match was the sort of defending that Real did when Barcelona attacked near the box. Instead of maintaining a traditional and structured defensive line, they simply surrounded any Barcelona player who had possession. This worked both ways, either the player could knock the ball away to ignite a dangerous chance or he would be pressured into losing the ball. With the small stature of Barca players, more often than not either they lost the ball or got a foul for their team.
TIKI TAKA REVERSED
Once Fabregas scored the opening goal for Barcelona, it looked like the match was about to follow the predicted script. Oddly, it was after this goal that the difference between Pep Guardiola’s side and the present Barca side emerged. While Guardiola’s team would have pressed harder for a second goal, Vilanova’s team began to defend a little deeper. It’s not that Barcelona went into full lockdown; they just stepped off the pedal and played their passes more in their own half. As the game wore on, Madrid pressed forward in search of an equaliser while Barça had the opportunity to strike on the counter. This was an utter reversal of roles from their previous encounters.
Pretty soon the commentary was more about Real’s great possession gameplay and Barcelona’s defence. Once, Modric came on for Callejon, Ozil shifted to the right and Essien got the license to overlap forward. With Modric on the pitch, Özil improved quite a bit. Even though he kept losing the ball too many times by trying very difficult passes, he allowed Madrid to switch defense to offense.
REAL’s EQUALIZER
The Bluagrana conceded a late equalizer in the 81st minute via Ozil’s brilliant cross put into the net by young Varane. The kid completed his marvelous performance with a huge goal for Real Madrid, so he will probably remember this game for quite a long time.
In truth though, Barcelona really could have done a lot more to deny Real Madrid their equaliser. For starters, Ozil should have been closed down on the right-wing. At what point does any top-class defender think it’s a good idea to let Ozil – one of the most creative players in Europe – cut inside onto his favoured left foot and give him time to pick out a cross? It was criminal defending, and that was before the ball even entered the penalty area. Then we have the marking; why was Fàbregas marking Raphael Varane? And if Fàbregas wasn’t marking Varane, then why didn’t he get out of Piqué’s way? Varane powered the header into the back of the net, and just like that, Real Madrid were level.
VERDICT
It’s hard to recap a Clásico without analyzing Ronaldo and Messi’s performances, but the truth is that neither one of them made a big impact in the game. On reflection, Barcelona will probably be pleased with the result, but it does leave them with a lot to do at the Camp Nou.
Real Madrid will now have to win the tie at the Camp Nou with Ramos, Coentrao and Di María available. Marcelo will also be in better shape and Pepe’s recovery should be almost ready when the end of February comes. That’s the reason why Real Madrid should keep believing.
