#3 Real Madrid’s defensive problems hit them hard
Taking nothing away from the brilliant performance from Barcelona, the defensive errors from Real Madrid caused almost all the goals in the game. While Lenglet and Pique stood strong at the back with their full-backs pushing high, it was an exact opposite on the other end.
The Real Madrid defence played a high-line and was broken apart on a number of occasions. They were too slow in backtracking towards the goal. Their man-marking was very weak.
Prior to the first goal, Lopetegui shouted instructions at Ramos and Marcelo to get the defensive positions right, seconds later they paid the price. The defence just let Jordi Alba run into all the open space that caused their first goal. A similar scenario happened during the second goal.
The slow reaction of the defence let Alba play a wonderful pass to Suarez. Raphael Varane made a really underwhelming challenge that caused the penalty. The defenders hardly circulated the ball well and gave possession away on far too many occasions. Even Arthur had a lethal attempt at goal.
Real Madrid didn’t hold their lines well and neither did they press well. Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba caused them all sorts of problems in the flanks. Sergio Ramos was not too good either alongside Varane. Sergi Roberto had no pressure on him while crossing to Suarez, and there was no pressure on Suarez either while he headed it freely. The fourth goal was all thanks to Sergio Ramos’ mistake. The fifth one again was a defensive lapse which saw Vidal head the ball freely.
Towards the end of the game, the Real Madrid defence played like a team defeated which caused them to lose by 5-1 rather than 3-1. The scoreline, as bad as it looks, is simply due to the number of chances missed by Barcelona.