5 reasons why Barcelona has dominated El Clasico in recent times

There was an air of inevitability about last night’s El Clasico encounter. The atmosphere was subdued at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, an almost unheard of state of affairs.

It’s not hard to understand why. FC Barcelona’s dominance of football’s greatest rivalry in recent times has been near-flawless.

Whatever the competition; La Liga, Copa Del Rey or even in the UEFA Champions League, the Blaugrana seem to have the number of their Los Merengues rivals.

The statistics are damning for Florentine Perez’s team. In the last five seasons, Real Madrid have only beaten Barca twice at the Santiago Bernabeu in all competitions

In fact, Barcelona has won all 4 of the most recent El Clasico in Madrid with Madridistas watching in horror. The record at the Camp Nou is slightly better for Madrid as they have won.

Here is a look at 5 reasons why Barca's dominance has become a trend;

#5 Defined Style of Play

Players like Busquets know what is expected of them instinctively

Say what you will about Barcelona’s patient passing style but as far as domestic competition is concerned, they have been peerless in recent times.

A large part of this has been down to its style of play. This is something that the players coming through La Masia are made to understand on a daily basis. The players who the club buys are also bought due to their suitability for the “system”.

This is in sharp contrast to the situation at Real Madrid. While the club has always had an attacking ethos, there hasn’t been a defined style of play for the side in ages.

The high turnover of coaches also means that the players have had to adapt to different styles of playing way too often.

This has shown in recent Clasicos whereby Real Madrid huff and puff but Barca’s understanding of their own style has seen the Blue and Red team triumph more than often.

A case in point was Wednesday’s second leg of the Copa Del Rey semifinal. The opening 45 minutes were dominated by Santiago Solari’s men. However, Barcelona took their sweet time getting into their groove. When they did in the second half, they scored 3 unrealized goals in the last 30 minutes.

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#4 Consistency in coaching

Valverde has out-coached his Real Madrid rivals

“Pass and move” is a pattern of play that virtually every player who has worn the Blaugrana shirt understands.

This style achieved its most majestic heights under the glorious reign of Pep Guardiola (2008-2013). However, the coaches after him have also continued this pattern to varying degrees of success.

Tata Martino and the late Tito Villanova were not as successful in playing this style. Luis Enrique’s dumping of this was a huge part of why the Camp Nou never truly fell in love with him.

The style; tiki-taka has found new life under Ernesto Valverde and domestically, has continued to yield results. Despite the protestations of silly Cules on social media, the former Bilbao manager has shown more tactical astuteness than Zidane, Lopetegui, and Solari in recent Clasico games.

This is not so for the white half of Madrid. Jose Mourinho & Rafa Benitez’s defense-first philosophy has been in sharp contrast to the Laissez-faire style of Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane.

Ironically, the style of the latter two men has yielded 4 UEFA Champions League titles.

Julen Lopetegui wanted to evolve the style to suit the players at the club presently but was sacked too soon in the aftermath of the 5-1 El Clasico thrashing earlier this season. Solari’s style has been difficult to decipher though he seems to be toeing the line of Ancelotti and Zidane by being more of a man manager than a coach.

For Real to get back on even footing with their great rivals, the coaching will need to be consistent over a period of time. This may not be possible due to Don Perez’s trigger-happy nature.

#3 Transfer Policies

Barca's signings have made more input than Real's

A compare-and-contrast approach of what both clubs have done in the transfer market in recent times can explain why recent El Clasico games have become as one-sided as they are.

The Barcelona board led by Josep Bartomeu has been more proactive in getting solutions for problems with the team. At the tail end of last season, it became glaring that the team's attack was in need of pace and youth. In the transfer windows since the club has added pace and youth to the attack in the form of Ousmane Dembele and Malcolm.

The departure of Andres Iniesta has been catered to by the arrivals of Arthur Melo and Arturo Vidal.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, has adopted a curious policy of stockpiling young, unproven talent while chasing after big-named Galacticos. Rodrigo Goes, Vinicius Junior, and Brahmin Diaz are some of the youngsters the club has signed in recent years.

The unending pursuit of star names; Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe and others has meant that gaping holes in the team; attack, wings, and central defence have remained unfixed.

Maybe if Mauricio Pochettino joins in the summer, there will be a sea change in the club's policy.

#2 Star players stepping up

Barca's big stars have stepped up when needed in El Clasico

El Clasico is the biggest game and its when the biggest stars usually step up to make it happen. Over the last 5-7 seasons, it has been reduced to the Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo show, a battle that added even more spice and attention to the world's greatest rivalry.

It has become clear in recent times that as the better-balanced team, FC Barcelona has had its star players stepping up when the occasion demanded it, unlike their Madrid counterparts.

Messi is the record goalscorer in Clasicos but it is instructive to note that across this season's four encounters, he has not scored a goal. Instead, the likes of Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen have stepped up to deliver crucial goals/performances.

With the exit of Cristiano to Juventus, Real Madrid's star men have faded badly under the harsh lights of an El Clasico encounter. Sergio Ramos has been perhaps the best attacking weapon but sadly, has become a huge liability at the back as well.

#1 Lionel Messi

Messi's presence has often been the difference

La Pulga Atomica is the greatest goalscorer in El Clasico history. However, the problem for Real Madrid has been that even when not scoring, the little magician has continued to play a starring role for his side.

His movements, dribbling, and passing has so often created many chances for his teammates to score/created space for moves to be made. Such has been his influence on the games that a significant number of the yellow (and red) cards Ramos has accumulated in Clasicos has been as a result of his tackles on Messi.

Unlike Ronaldo who has become primarily a goalscorer and penalty box assassin in recent times, Messi's role as creator and orchestrator has seen him more involved in the play than his great rival.

While Ronaldo's 18 Clasico goals is a fantastic record, often times, his non-involvement in play has allowed the Catalan side certain freedoms that Real Madrid has not been afforded due to Messi's presence.