Introduction
This Sunday included a very notorious rivalry match called the El Clasico. The El Clasico is a historic match between two of the biggest teams in Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona. This match up has happened around since the late 1920s, with there being 150 El Clasicos with Real Madrid winning 77 times and Barcelona winning 73 times. These numbers give you a good outlook at how close these games tend to be. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona are dominant in La Liga and each team usually ends up winning the league every season. This means that the El Clasico is a crucial game for the rest of the season, whoever wins can get a jumpstart in front of one another. In this match summary I will give a summary of the match and who all played well including what my thoughts are on both teams.
Match Summary
During this historic rivalry match a lot happened. I would agree that both teams started off well, with both teams pressing high and forcing errors. This high press would slowly die down for Barcelona as the first half went on and unfortunately for Barcelona, they seemed to be focused on attack and was caught off guard by a well placed Toni Kross pass. This pass then was ran down and shot by an eager Vinicius Junior which then deflected and landed in this year’s Ballon D’or winner Karim Benzema feet who then finished it off. This was only the 12th minute and as Barcelona typically do they looked like they had lost confidence and organization of their line-up. After Benzema’s goal, Barcelona completely lost all attacking creativity and was not focusing on their defense whatsoever. Madrid would capitalize off of Barcelona’s slow press and lazy defending with a brilliant Federico Valverde goal in the 35th minute which was a sucker punch for Barcelona and their fans right before half. When the second half started it felt like Barcelona could get back in the game but it was very difficult for them to keep possession for long but were able to get some shots on Madrid’s goal. Barcelona were able to control Madrid for a good portion of the second half and took a lot of chances, sadly none of them were good enough to cause Madrid goalie, Thibaut Courtois, any trouble. Eventually after enough chances Robert Lewandowski was able to put a ball across the box and Ferran Torres was able to tap it in. At that point I think the home Madrid fans knew the game could change at any moment. Barcelona then completely lost control once again and Madrid was able to force Barcelona into conceding a penalty in the 91st minute which was finished off by Rodrygo. The final whistle was blown and the game ended, 3-1. Both teams fought hard but Real Madrid were just too clinical with their chances and were able to put 3 past Barca.
Summary on Barcelona
Barcelona has been undefeated in this season so far and had only let one goal past them. Their defense has been solid but has seen two of their best defenders get hurt in the last couple weeks. These players, Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo, before they were injured they were definitely Barca’s first team choice for the defense. Luckily Barca was ready for injuries and had other choices for defense such as Kounde, Marcos Alonso, Pique and Eric Garcia. Although not as consistent as Christensen and Araujo they still are solid options. However, Barcelona’s line up was up for discussion from the fans and the media. A lot of fans were upset at the starting line up because this summer Barcelona made some big signings by selling some of their own assets so they could afford these players wages. Some of the players include Raphinha, Franck Kessie, Kounde and the prolific striker Robert Lewandowski. Although most of these players played well, some did not show the work ethic for the amount of money they were bought for. Raphinha for example did not have a great game, he was unable to find his form throughout the game and was constantly losing possession for Barca. Some Barcelona players did start off strong like Ousmane Demebele and Robert Lewandowski with some missed chances in the first half and Frenkie De Jong with some good forward runs. The defense on the other hand was atrocious and looked uncomfortable all game. Eric Garcia, who also did not play well in his last match, is not physical enough and was not able to get back in time for two of the goals they conceded. Kounde who just came back from injury looked lost at some points and overall was not pressing Madrid players hard enough which allowed Madrid players to have too much time on the ball. Both fullbacks Alejandro Balde and Sergi Roberto were beaten for pace by the Madrid wingers and were unable to lock down their sides of the pitch. Overall, Barcelona’s defense let them down and it could’ve been a different game if Barcelona had their strong defense back from injury. Although Barcelona’s attack had around 18 shots, they were also disappointing as they could’ve helped boost Barca’s confidence with more clinical finishes. I am hoping Barcelona find their form again in their next game so they can bounce back for the next El Clasico.
Real Madrid Summary
Real Madrid on the other hand played very well. It was hard to not be biased as I grew up watching Barcelona and watched the El Clasicos with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I was never a huge fan of Real Madrid and in fact disliked a lot of their players for a long time. In the last 5 years it has been rough as Barcelona has fallen from greatness while Madrid has capitalized and built a fantastic team with real winners. Madrid’s team won the league and Champions League last season and were dominant over Barcelona in the league, except for the last El Clasico which was a 4-0 loss to Real Madrid. This El Clasico however was completely different and every Madrid player did their job. Madrid’s defense which includes David Alaba and Eder Militao who are some of the best center backs in the world right now. Madrid’s midfield consists of two legends of the game, 32 year old Toni Kross and 37 year old Luka Modric who are both veterans but still performing at the top level day in and day out. A solid midfield like that deserves a great attack which of course Madrid has. Karim Benzema, Viniciuis Junior and Frederico Valverde were all brilliant in the game with all of them being involved in one of the three goals. Although it hurts to say as I have never been a fan of Real Madrid, I do think their team is significantly better than Barcelona right now and could go on and win the league again this season. Valverde has been on fire for awhile now and has been a problem for a lot of La Liga and Champions League defenses. I believe they have a lot of young talent who will hopefully bring Madrid more trophies just like Modric and Kross did. Barcelona also has some great young talent such as Pedri, Gavi and Balde who will also hopefully bring Barcelona some future wins. In general, both these teams are great and I can see them both winning some silverware in the upcoming future with their young promising talent.
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