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Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona: Match Review
Real Madrid’s biggest test of the season came on Sunday night in the form of El Clasico and presented them with a terrific chance to go three points clear of their arch-rivals on the night. The game took place at Santiago Bernabeu, and it is safe to say that Los Blancos had a slight edge heading into the game.
Carlo Ancelotti placed Andriy Lunin in goal with the pairing of Eder Militao and David Alaba guarding the goal in central defence. Ferland Mendy and Dani Carvajal played at left and right-back, respectively.
Luka Modric and Toni Kroos started in the Clasico alongside Aurelien Tchouameni, who received his debut in football’s biggest game. Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr and Federico Valverde completed the starting lineup.
The opening minutes saw the visitors dominate the possession while Ancelotti’s men sat comfortably holding for the counterattack. Their effort on the break repeatedly threw off Barcelona’s defence, and it was the same pattern that saw Los Blancos break the deadlock.
In the 12th minute, Toni Kroos showed his class by keeping his cool under pressure and playing wonderful through ball to Vinicius Jr. The youngster made a great run towards the goal, but ter Stegen saved his shot. Almost instinctively, Benzema was at the right place at the right time to pick up the spilt ball and drill it into the back of the net.
Soon after Los Blancos had their opener, Xavi’s men began their waves of rampant attacks and had great chances through Lewandowski and Dembele.
However, the European champions kept their defensive discipline and soaked in the pressure, only to double the Blaugranas plight at the other end.
Real Madrid scored their second goal on the night on the counter once again. It came completely against the run of play in the 35th minute when Mendy found Valverde at the edge of the box. Paying no attention to his distance from goal, the Uruguayan released a ferocious shot past Ter Stegen.
Ancelotti was the happier of the two managers heading into half-time as his team comfortably led by two goals with 45 minutes to go.
It seemed like Benzema scored the team’s third goal in the 1st minute with a perfectly placed shot from a distance, but it was ruled out for offside.
From the beginning of the second half, it was the Madrid-based side who dominated the attacking play and created better chances while the visitors struggled and stretched in defence. Ancelotti opted to replace Modric with Eduardo Camavinga in the 78th minute.
Barcelona pulled one back with eight minutes to go through Ferran Torres. The move began with Ansu Fati dribbling down the left side and sending in a low cross before his compatriot found the back of the net.
Immediately after the goal, Rodrygo came on for Vinicius Jr, followed by Marco Asensio and Antonio Rudiger for Benzema and Carvajal just minutes later.
Real Madrid won a penalty in the 90th minute after VAR interfered and awarded the hosts the chance. The incident involved Eric stepping on Rodrygo’s foot in the box, and the youngster made no mistake in front of the goal.
The win at home takes Madrid three points clear of the Azulgranas and in pole position on the league standings. Needless to say, the result could well be one that determines the championship at the end of the season.
Real Madrid’s second European challenge of the season is here, and they will be playing on the road against a formidable opponent in AS Roma.
The Merengues managed a massive win over Inter Milan on matchday one of the UEFA Champions League despite not playing at their best, and will hope to keep the momentum going in the competition tomorrow night.
Yet, it is also clear that Los Blancos have underdelivered by far this season and have been nowhere close to their best. In that sense, Roma arrive as a massive challenge and momentum-deciding clash ahead of El Clasico.
Having started off with a win over Villarreal after returning from the international break, Real Madrid currently have momentum on their side. Whether they can take an extra step forward and play more convincingly, however, remains to be seen.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Roma vs Real Madrid.
An undefeated opponent
Jose Mourinho taking on Gian Piero Gasperini tomorrow will be a revisit to football heritage. After all, both coaches have a long and successful history and are writing the final stages of their managerial careers.
The respect they hold for each other is massive, and while Real Madrid would normally be comfortable favourites against Roma, matters are not as clear this time around.
Heading into tomorrow’s clash, Los Blancos are on a rocky run of form and have already lost two games this season in La Liga.
In contrast, the hosts Roma are undefeated this season, and that comes as a massive warning sign for Real Madrid.
The Italian side kicked off the season with three wins in three games against Fiorentina, Lecce and Atalanta, and then drew against Fenerbahce in their opening UCL game.
Their last three games have been against difficult opponents in Torino, Inter Milan and Como, and while they did beat the first of the three, they came away with strong draws against the two big Italian sides.
Entering the game against Real Madrid, Roma will completely back themselves to pull off an upset given Los Blancos’ form, especially considering that they have the home advantage and that Real Madrid have struggled on the road.
For Mourinho and co., it will not be an easy challenge in any sense of the word.
The double-pivot question
The midfield, by far, has been Real Madrid’s biggest bottleneck this season, and the manager’s idea of fielding Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde as his big game double-pivot does not appear to be promising.
While the duo should work well on paper, their combination has not generated nearly as much control and creativity as Real Madrid require in the few games they have started together.
As they stare up to a massive European challenge, the big question thus remains as to who the manager will trust as his double-pivot pairing.
Both players started together and played decently in the win over Villarreal, but Roma will be a whole different challenge. Having players who can keep possession on that front is crucial.
Therefore, it remains to be seen what decision the manager takes in the central midfield department. Starting Valverde and Tchouameni together, at this point, would be a massive risk, but it is not easy to decide which of the two start on the bench.
Even if an alternative arrangement is to be explored, the options are simply not good enough, with Bernardo Silva not earning a place yet and Arda Guler possibly lacking the physical presence Real Madrid need in midfield.
Will Vinicius start?
Despite openly backing the player ahead of Real Madrid’s game against Villarreal, Jose Mourinho started Vinicius Jr. on the bench at the weekend and only called him for a second-half cameo.
After coming on, the player made headlines for being sent off after a disallowed goal in a passage of five minutes
Vinicius, now, will remain suspended for potentially three league games and will miss some massive games including El Clasico. His suspension does not apply in the UEFA Champions League, but it remains to be seen how Mourinho handles the situation.
On one hand, the manager knows that he cannot count on Vinicius for the next few weeks. Fielding the player in the XI, in that sense, will be understandable.
Concurrently, however, there is a legitimate debate as to whether Real Madrid are better with or without the Brazilian star at this point. Given how Guler and Yan Diomande have both shown more value, there is a strong case to drop Vinicius despite his availability.
So far, the manager has openly backed the winger time and time again, and it will be interesting to see what he decides about Vinicius’ participation tomorrow. Needless to say, it will speak volumes about where the player stands in Mourinho’s pecking order.
