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Real Madrid has faced Barcelona four times this season, twice in LaLiga and twice in the Copa del Rey, and failed to come out as winners even once. Los Blancos have lost three and drawn one against La Blaugrana in 2018-19 so far, handing their arch rivals the bragging rights in Spain.
In four of these fixtures, Real Madrid conceded 10 goals and scored only 2 - which depicts the domination of their bitter rivals over them. Meanwhile, Barcelona is ahead on the head to head count against Real Madrid, for the first time in the last century.
Under the guidance of former coach, Julen Lopetegui, Barcelona hammered Real Madrid 5-1 without Lionel Messi, and things have not changed since his departure. Despite a bit of positive under Santiago Solari, his men came up short in the last three 'El Clasicos', scoring just once.
As a result, they are now knocked out by Barcelona from the Copa del Rey with an aggregate score of 4-1, and Los Blancos face an uphill battle as they are 12 points behind Barcelona in LaLiga. It is crystal clear that Madrid's domestic season is more or less over after suffering defeats against their bitter rivals.
It is quite shocking that Barcelona has won their last four battles against Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Let us quickly evaluate three key reasons for Real Madrid's failure against their arch-rivals this season.
#1 Lack of efficiency in front of goal
As evident from the last two Clasico fixtures, the victorious team was more clinical in front of goal. Real Madrid attempted more shots in the last two fixtures, whereas Barcelona managed to be more clinical and punished their arch-rivals for being less efficient in front of goal.
The likes of Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema had their chances to shoot, yet they failed to score even once. On the other hand, Suarez and co did not hesitate to finish off their chances and increase their goal scoring tally against Madrid with fewer shots.
There is no doubt that losing an efficient finisher like Cristiano Ronaldo took its toll and Los Blancos are left pondering what would have happened if they took their chances.
#2 Poor performance from senior players
While almost all the Real Madrid players had a poor outing in 2018-19's first 'El Clasico', the senior players have really failed to step up since then.
Vinicius Junior made his mark as the rare threat to Barcelona in the last three fixtures between them, while Karim Benzema failed to show his good form this season. Gareth Bale also rarely threatened despite starting last night.
Real Madrid's only goal in the last three 'El Clasicos' came from Lucas Vasquez, with an attack initiated by Vinicius himself in the first leg of Copa del Rey semi-finals.
Things were not too different in the Los Blancos midfield as Toni Kroos had another night to forget. It is clear that both Kroos and Modric failed to dominate proceedings in their usual manner and have come out as second best against their bitter rivals throughout the current season.
#3 Lack of stability
A distinct lack of stability and structure at the heart of Real Madrid after the departure of former coach Zinedine Zidane played its part. The change of managers and formations in the middle of the season did not help Los Blancos' case.
Under the tutelage of Ernesto Valverde, Barca players have looked confident and stable enough to not lose once against their eternal rivals. It was as if the Barcelona players knew what to do and the exact moment to do it, which eventually resulted in clear domination.
Moreover, each and every substitution of Valverde worked like a well-oiled machine, whereas Solari's changes had a desperate mark. Despite notable positive changes from Santiago Solari, the players were seemingly unsure, as they always found themselves a goal behind, and clueless on how to reply to the situation.
