Features
Three takeaways from Barcelona 4-3 Real Madrid | La Liga
Four Clasicos. Four defeats. Such is the deplorable record of Real Madrid against Barcelona this season and the team can do nothing but hang their heads in shame.
Sunday afternoon’s game was supposed to be different. After three defeats, it was expected to be the day Real Madrid turn up and prove a point to Barcelona and Europe that they were still among the elite.
However, they could not capitalise on the situation that unfolded and ended up losing the game by a 4-3 scoreline despite having a 2-0 lead at one point.
Kylian Mbappe was the hero for Real Madrid with a hat-trick, but goals from Eric Garcia, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha helped Barcelona take back the lead and eventually all three points.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 4-3 Real Madrid.
Mbappe steps up
Mbappe was the one bright spot from Real Madrid’s defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey last month and was once again the team’s best player in Sunday’s game against the Catalans.
On a night where the Merengues were once again far from their best, the Frenchman stood out as one of the team’s most reliable difference makers and went on to score a hat-trick for the men in white.
He opened the scoring early on the night, converting from the penalty spot after earning the spot-kick himself, and struck the ball with enough power to beat any goalkeeper in the game.
Just nine minutes after scoring the opener, he got on the end of a ruthless counterattack from the Galacticos and made it two on the night, giving his team a comfortable cushion.
Eventually, Mbappe completed his hat trick in the second half after a wonderful assist from Vinicius Jr. which laid it on a platter for him.
Apart from the three goals as well, he regularly threatened Szczesny’s goal and showed a better understanding of the offside trap. It may not be a reason to celebrate but is indeed a silver lining to Real Madrid’s otherwise devastating performance.
Suicidal passiveness
For Real Madrid to concede four goals in half an hour after going two goals up is borderline criminal, yet they found a way to do so last night in the worst possible manner.
For most teams in the game, going two goals up in a game is a factor that motivates them to go for more blood looking to kill off the game as early as possible.
Carlo Ancelotti’s approach last night, thus, appeared queer as Real Madrid seemingly intentionally got into a defensive mindset after scoring the opening two goals.
Having become overly passive and handing over the initiative to Hansi Flick’s side, it is not surprising that Los Blancos were made to dearly pay by the Catalans on Sunday. After all, Barcelona thrive in situations where they are given the possession and impetus.
The defeat only goes on to show how seriously Real Madrid need a change of style and managerial mindset heading into the new season.
Carlo Ancelotti may well go down as one of the club’s most successful managers in history, but it is now beyond clear that he has completed his cycle.
Set to go trophyless
Real Madrid’s season is still not over and will not be until their run in the FIFA Club World Cup concludes. Yet, it is difficult to digest the fact that the team is indeed going trophyless this time around.
Fans may argue that the team already picked up two trophies earlier this season by winning the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
While those trophies are handy to add into calculations of a sextuple, however, flexing them as standalone silverware does not reflect well on a team like Real Madrid.
Ancelotti’s men crashed out of the Champions League with a hammering to Arsenal, lost the Copa del Rey final to Barcelona in extra-time and now appeared to have handed over the league title to Barcelona as well.
What’s worse is the fact that the Merengues have now fallen short of the Blaugrana on all three ‘finals’ that they met this season.
The game at Montjuic on Sunday was the latest, yet perhaps the most important defeat of the team’s results against Barcelona this term.
After all, it effectively hands the title to Barcelona on a red carpet with one more win in three games now enough for them to take it home.
The derby weekend is here as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are set to lock horns on Sunday afternoon at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
After an eventful transfer window and a stuttering start, Atletico Madrid reaffirmed their position as genuine title contenders and have done decently well so far this season.
With four wins, a draw and a defeat to their name, they sit on 13 points after six games.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have only had one defeat and are on 15 points after as many games, only behind Barcelona who sit on a perfect record.
Diego Simeone’s men had a shaky start to the season, but have picked up steam in recent weeks with seven goals scored and none conceded in their last two games.
Given their strong record against Real Madrid at home, they will look to take all three points tomorrow.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid.
A test away from home
It is no secret that Real Madrid’s form on the road this season has been poor, not necessarily for the results themselves but how the team have conducted themselves in away grounds.
For the first time in years, there appears to be a sense of uncertainty around Los Blancos’ ability to produce results away from home.
For long periods in the game, they appear willing to hand over the momentum, and the resultant pressure has seen them collapse.
A last-gasp winner from Carlos Espi handed them the win against Espanyol away from home, and they went on to lose against Real Betis in their second away fixture of the season.
Most recently, they bottled a 2-0 lead against Elche and again required a stoppage-time winner from Espi to take the three points.
Tomorrow’s game, in that sense, is extremely challenging, for it is not only away from home but against an opposition of high quality.
Playing Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano is as challenging as games get, and Real Madrid have an extremely poor record at the venue.
Since 2017, Real Madrid have only won twice at the Metropolitano with three defeats and three draws. Last season, they suffered a 5-2 defeat and the game went on to break the team’s momentum.
Heading into such a tricky clash with an ongoing crisis away from home makes Sunday’s clash very complicated for the Merengues.
Arda Guler has to return
After a long time, Jose Mourinho took the Yan Diomande experiment to the next level and handed the player back-to-back starts for Real Madrid.
Clearly, the new signing still has a long way to go in terms of his adaptation, but he has been promising as an attacking outlet in his few appearances.
Diomande started both against Rayo Vallecano and Elche, but there is a strong case to drop him for the Madrid derby and play Arda Guler instead.
The Turkish international was on the bench against Rayo Vallecano and played as a No. 10 against Elche, with Jude Bellingham rested. Now, with the Englishman set to return, the manager has a decision to make.
Mourinho has made it clear that he wishes to ease Diomande into Real Madrid’s dynamics to reduce the pressure on his shoulders. Fielding him from the start in a derby would contradict that idea.
Beyond that, however, Guler has shown far more utility and promise as an attacking and creative outlet than Diomande, making the right-wing decision quite clear for the manager.
Real Madrid with and without Guler have been two completely different stories this season, and the team will require every last bit of creative inspiration that he has in him to get past Atletico Madrid tomorrow afternoon.
There is also a case for Brahim Diaz to be brought in, and the Moroccan star is also probably ahead of Diomande on the pecking order. Guler, however, stands out as a top option even ahead of Brahim.
Eyes on Vinicius Jr.
For years, Vinicius Jr. has always utilised the big stages to make his statements, for he has been a player to speak through performances and not words.
For instance, he scored a stunning solo goal last season against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup at a time when he was least expected to do so. At that point, he had not scored in 16 straight games, but the big moment called out to him.
It is clear that the Brazilian is not going through his best moment right now once again. The past few weeks have been hard on him, especially after he did well at the World Cup and returned to Madrid with higher expectations on him.
So far this season, Vinicius has only scored one goal in seven games. Beyond the goals, however, he has not looked like his usual threatening self on the flank and has not created half as many chances as he usually would.
Such is the player’s situation that his place in the team is being called into doubt for the first time in years. After all, Yan Diomande can play on the left and showed glimpses of his ability in the previous game.
All eyes, thus, will be on Vinicius on Sunday to see if he can step up to the occasion and make his presence felt when it really matters. He has always been one for the big stage, and tomorrow’s stage is the biggest yet this season.
