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Three talking points from Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona | Copa del Rey
After drawing Atletico Madrid midweek, Real Madrid slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Xavi’s Barcelona on Thursday night in the Copa del Rey. While the Merengues indeed dominated possession, their efforts were just not enough to get past the Blaugrana defence.
In the end, the two sides were separated by an Eder Militao own goal that stemmed from Eduardo Camavinga’s misplaced pass. Ancelotti’s men were made to pay for their few sloppy mistakes in full as they now head to Spotify Camp Nou for the second leg chasing a deficit.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points from Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona.
1. The missed opportunity
The stars could not have aligned more in Real Madrid’s favour as they did for Thursday’s El Clasico. Everything seemed to be going the way of Carlo Ancelotti’s side, except what mattered the most- the result.
The objective on the night was to secure a strong first-leg lead over the Catalans so as to deter their pursuit of the cup and derail their confidence in the league. With three of Xavi’s best players out injured, it shifted more in the Merengues’ favour.
However, their performance on the field lacked conviction. The men in white were the better team in phases but did not have the better chances. Barcelona’s deep defensive line proved too hard a nut to crack for the hosts’ forwards who looked absolutely pocketed on the night.
Considering the entire situation, Real Madrid had to settle with the worst possible result. Despite having a close to full-strength XI, Ancelotti’s men stumbled in their second successive game. This time around, the onus is completely on their own inability to capitalise on a golden chance.
2. Possession does not translate to results
That possession does not win you games has been one of the standard takeaways from most of Barcelona’s games in recent years. To see Real Madrid fall prey to the statement is almost unheard of, given their usual counter-attacking style of play.
On Thursday night, the roles seemed to be reversed. The two sides appeared to have swapped shirts, for it was the men in white who maintained possession and attempted to get through the defence with their passes.
On the other hand, Xavi’s side defended deep. The Catalans maintained their resolution under pressure and looked to capitalise on the counter. It was in a similar fashion that both of Barcelona’s big chances including the goal came.
The Merengues had 65% of the possession at the Santiago Bernabeu and took 13 shots in the ninety minutes. However, they notably failed to hit the target even once on the night and generated just one big chance.
In contrast, two of Barcelona’s meagre four shots were big chances and both hit the target. If not for Ansu Fati blocking his own teammate, both would have resulted in goals.
Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr had close to no impact in the final third, managing just one shot between them in 90 minutes.
Barcelona’s defence undoubtedly deserves praise for their resilience and flawless display, but it is unacceptable for Real Madrid to struggle in the final third to such an extent considering the resources they have.
3. An uphill battle
Of the three Clasicos played this season, Real Madrid have now lost two. The arch-rivals will face off two more times, but both will be at Spotify Camp Nou against relatively stronger Barcelona sides.
A one-goal deficit is not as bad as it appears. After all, Los Blancos have pulled off far superior comebacks in much direr situations. Yet, one knows that it will be an uphill battle.
The second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final is scheduled for the beginning of April, over 30 days after last night’s first leg. A lot will change between now and then as Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Robert Lewandowski are all expected to be back raring for the Catalans.
Thus, the next meeting between the two sides in March in La Liga will prove crucial. If Ancelotti’s men can beat Barca in Catalonia two weeks from now, they will have momentum on their side. A third successive Clasico defeat, however, would not have good repercussions.
The Azulgranas have well and truly put the pressure on Real Madrid for the second leg. Yet, one knows that another performance with as much dominance as Thursday’s game could suffice to pioneer the required comeback.
Roma made Real Madrid suffer for over 80 minutes on Wednesday night, and with a 3-1 lead, looked good for the win.
A flurry of set-pieces and accurate conversion, however, saved Los Blancos and helped them take all three points against the run of play.
The true depth of the club’s forward line was on full show on the night as Kylian Mbappe, Endrick and Carlos Espi all scored for Real Madrid and contributed to the 4-1 win.
What the result once again proved, however, is that the team under Jose Mourinho continues to have severe lacunae that will be punished by any elite European opposition.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Roma 3-4 Real Madrid.
A mess of an encounter
Real Madrid simply seem incapable of winning a game of football without suffering and making a massive mess out of it at this point, and the win last night did not change that perspective in any sense.
Los Blancos were outplayed by Roma for the major part of the night as the hosts played with more intent, attacking freedom and possession against Real Madrid.
Jose Mourinho’s men have been unconvincing on the road this season, and last night appeared set to go down as another defeat until a massive turn of events in the final ten minutes.
Earning back-to-back set pieces, Real Madrid managed to convert a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 win, but that does not speak to the team’s dominance in any capacity.
In the past, such a remontada would be celebrated as a mark of the team’s mentality, but those feelings do not seem to predominate this time around. Instead, the game is largely being viewed as an outing that exposed Real Madrid’s problems once again, but where they got fortunate enough to take three points.
The signs, at this point, continue to be extremely worrying and Mourinho and Co. have a lot of effort to put in if they are to overturn the team’s situation.
Substitutes outperform the starters
Jose Mourinho’s starting lineup against Roma was a representation of the mental picture the manager has of the team – and was his ‘strongest’ XI on paper.
Summer signings Marc Cucurella and Ibrahima Konate started in defence alongside Antonio Rudiger and Denzel Dumfries.
The ‘Gala’ midfield of Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde joined Jude Bellingham in midfield while Yan Diomande, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe all started.
Despite all the big names featuring from the get-go, however, Real Madrid simply failed to create any passage of dominant play, nor did they create regular openings to score. Instead, they remained on the back foot comfortably, and matters only changed after substitutions rolled in.
Mourinho brought on Endrick and Arda Guler at the hour mark, replacing Vinicius and Dumfries, and thereby increased the attacking intensity. With Guler on the field, the team finally had a creative spark and Endrick constantly threatened the box.
Slightly later, the coach brought on Bernardo Silva for Aurelien Tchouameni, handing the team far more stability and control in midfield and restoring some level of order.
The arrivals of Carlos Espi and Alvaro Carreras in the 78th minute finally freed Real Madrid and they managed to pull off the comeback.
Every single one of the players who came on played a significant part in the comeback, be it the stability and creativity Silva and Guler offered or the attacking solutions Endrick and Espi brought. Even Carreras was an upgrade over Marc Cucurella.
How much disarray is too much disarray?
Given how Real Madrid’s midfield has looked this season, there will inevitably come a point when Jose Mourinho pulls the plug on the Valverde-Tchouameni plan.
The manager currently sees the duo as his best defensive midfield combination for the big games, but the disarray in midfield is growing with every game and the duo are unable to provide the control Real Madrid requires.
A breaking point, in that sense, will certainly arrive, but the bigger question is how much disarray is required for the manager to pull the plug on a plan that is clearly not working.
Against Roma last night, the game changed completely after Bernardo Silva came on for Tchouameni, and that alone shows how glaring the midfield problem currently is.
Not only did the Tchouameni-Valverde pairing struggle to keep possession, but they offered no attacking edge or creative spark and even looked shaky defensively.
There is an urgent need to bring the likes of Guler and Bernardo Silva into the starting dynamics for Real Madrid, and only time will tell when Mourinho will decide he has seen enough.
