Welcome back to TalkBarca. Our topic for today is the Match Review of the El Classico. Barcelona had a very tough task to accomplish as they went out to face Real Madrid at the Camp Nou? Guess what happened? Barcelona lost. Barca lost at home to its arch-rivals, Real Madrid. A humiliating defeat indeed for Ronald Koemann’s men. Barcelona lost 1-3 on the day on which it mattered the most.
FC BARCELONA VS REAL MADRID MATCH REVIEW
FIRST HALF
The El Classico promises to deliver high-quality football and aggression from both sides. However, FC Barcelona started the game lazily. There was no energy or high press during the early moments of the game. Infact, they started in a similar fashion as they did against Ferencvaros and well, got punished for it as well. Real Madrid was able to score their first as well as the first goal of the game in the 6th minute. It was a result of a very lazy and sloppy attitude from both, Lenglet and Pique.
They both were caught off position, marking no man. Therefore, it allowed Valverde to make a run past them, finding himself one on one against Neto. Fede finished the ball easily at the far post and thus, registering Real’s first goal.
However, Barcelona did pick up some pace after conceding the goal. The entire squad woke up and decided to take charge in their hands. The first and only goal from Barcelona came a few minutes after that. Messi was involved in the goal as he sneaked a pass to Jordi Alba. Jordi found a lot of space in front of him. Therefore, he was able to make a run and pass the ball to Ansu Fati. Ansu finished the ball with ease. Thus, he registered himself on the scoresheet as well as the youngest player to score in a Classico.
Both teams were able to create chances after that. Furthermore, he was the root of many key passes. Messi also made Casemiro fell down. However, he was then tackled inside the box by the Brazilian. It looked like a very obvious penalty. However, the VAR decided to not give it. Therefore, the VAR helping Real Madrid controversy still continues. Neto was pretty good as well as he saved two incredible chances created by Real Madrid.
The first half probably deserved more than 1 goal from both sides. Ronald Koemann looked like he had everything under control after the first half ended. No one watching the game at that time knew what was coming for the Barca fans in the second half.
First Half: Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
SECOND HALF
The Barca team came out full of confidence in the second half. Maybe, if it wasn’t for their overconfidence, the result could be different. Barcelona absolutely had Real Madrid stuck at one point. They were dominating every area on the pitch. Whereas, Real Madrid found themselves suffering for a slight chance to score a goal.
Barcelona missed a few chances too. A one on one effort by Ansu Fati was wasted after his shot went wide. Furthermore, Philippe Coutinho also missed a header after an accurate cross from Ansu Fati. The tables turned when Clement Lenglet gave away a penalty to Real Madrid. Clement pulled Ramos’s shirt inside the box. It took a lot of time to review it through VAR. Ultimately, Real got a penalty. This gave Real the lead they were looking for and destroyed Barca’s confidence.
Ronald Koemann is also to blame for making his substitutions very late. He introduced fresh legs after the 80th minute. Luka scored the third goal for Real Madrid. He absolutely toyed with Neto, who had a decent game than many FC Barcelona players before scoring his goal. There is a lot to discuss about the mistakes FC Barcelona made. Catalonians have a lot of places to improve before they face Juventus next in the Champions League.
Full Time: Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid
