Matchday 11 Review
- Callum McIlwaine
- Nov 2, 2024
- 7 min read
Real Madrid CF Vs. FC Barcelona
Santiago Bernabeu, 26 October 2024
Final Score: Real Madrid CF 0 - 4 FC Barcelona
Here we are for the first El Clasico of the season, both teams had something to prove most importantly, something to play for. Barcelona were looking to continue their time on the top of the table, only one upset at the hands of Osasuna has slowed the league leaders down on their incredible start to the campaign. For the hosts, they were looking at the chance to go 43 games unbeaten and beat the all time record held by Barcelona funnily enough. Recent Clasico's have gone the way of Real Madrid but we were hoping for a really attacking display from both teams in this one. Once the game kicked off in the capital, Real Madrid went at it with viscous intent, Mbappe being played through the Barcelona defensive line within the opening seconds of the match by Camavinga to be one on one with the goalkeeper Pena, luckily for the visitors, the striker narrowly missed, striking the ball wide of the near post, a warning sign right from the off. This was the routine for the first half though, Barcelona playing an insanely high line and the attacking members of the home side trying to exploit that with their pace. Cubarsi had his work cut out for him dealing with Mbappe while Kounde was stuck with Vini Jr, a tough night for the right side of the Barca defence. Yamal was flying as well for the away side, giving Rudiger and Militao some work as well early on when he was played through but didn't have enough strength or pace to get a proper shot away and worry Lunin in goal. This is where the Barcelona game plan really started to take shape, in the space of 5 minutes Mbappe was played through once again and this time he cut it back to Bellingham who had his shot saved on the line by Pena, but an offside was called. Then, Mbappe (again) was caught offside while cutting back to Vini who ended up missing the effort, it wouldn't have counted anyway. This was the recurring theme of the night. On the rare occasion that Barcelona got an attack in the opening 20 minutes, Raphina had options either side and decided to shoot, unfortunately for him and the visitors, this shot was high, a poor decision from the captain. Once again, Mbappe, played through but was offside in the build up, Pena was alert to this though, the Barcelona second choice keeper making sure to play the whistle the best he could. Pedri decided to take matters into his own hands and strike from distance, only to see his shot saved by the diving Lunin and poked wide for a corner by Militao, the resulting corner ended with a header from Martinez that went narrowly over the bar, a rare attack from Barca in this half but a closer one than the last couple. At the half hour mark, we finally had the deadlock broken, Vasquez played Mbappe through the defensive line once again and he manages to chip the ball past the oncoming Pena, a great finish and one we've come to expect from the Frenchman. VAR to check though. Offside again! Mbappe's first goal in his first Clasico has been written off due to the high line being played, a real let off. Mbappe tries to get his goal back by gliding through the middle of Cubarsi and Martinez, the ball gets bundled wide for a goal kick but this high line was starting to look like it was about to shake at some point. Throughout the first half, it must be said - Casado and Pedri were playing an excellent game of being defensive and creative midfielders, this high line of the Barcelona defence would probably have been breached a lot more if it wasn't for these two being on their A-games tonight. That was the final action of the first half really, after Mbappe's effort going out for a goal kick, the half fizzled out to a quiet close, 0 - 0 at the break. Madrid will feel frustrated that they didn't get anything out of this and weren't ahead but Barcelona will count themselves lucky that the defensive plan seems to be working, they need more quality from their front 3 though.
The second half kicks off and we are hoping for more quality from both sides, maybe Barcelona's high line will be the thing that causes them to lose this game? Maybe Real Madrid might throw everything they have at their Catalan rivals, we'll find out over the next 45 minutes! Barcelona started this half a lot more energy than the first round, within the first few minutes Kounde was peppering the box with crosses, Militao standing strong and tall to a lot of them. Vasquez was trying to continue the link with Mbappe but Cubarsi was starting to wise up to these passes and movements. We can't fault the confidence of Lamine Yamal however, the youngster took aim from the half way line as he clearly saw Lunin off his line, the shot was ultimately dealt with easily by the Madrid goalkeeper but I guess, you never know if you try! Vini had the an effort but saw it deflected out for a corner, the opening 5 minutes were all Barca at this point. This theme continued when top goalscorer Lewandowksi scored, he was played through by Casado and stayed onside, he had what seemed to be all the space in the world and slotted it past Lunin from the edge of the box to give the away side the lead. 0 - 1 Barca, can't say we didn't see this coming this half really. Not two minutes later though, Balde swings a cross in from the left side of the Barca attack and there he is again, unmarked on the penalty spot, Lewandowski rises to header past Lunin and secure Barcelona's second goal of the night in real quick succession and absolutely stun the Bernabeu, 0 - 2 to the away side. The home side had to respond and Vini and Mbappe took it upon themselves to try and even the scores. First we had Mbappe making space on the edge of the 18 yard line for a shot that ended up being fairly tame and Pena didn't struggle to keep it out. Minutes later just after the hour mark, Vini finds Mbappe through again, but this time Pena smothers the ball well, a good bit of goalkeeping but it was looking like the front 2 were starting to wear down this defence and work the high line. on the 65th minute mark, Mbappe actually had the ball in the goal again but once again was called offside, it must have been around his 8th time offside by this point in the match, tactically sound from the Barca defensive line. On the resulting counter attack from this movement, Raphina managed to cut the ball back for Lewandowski who was unmarked at the back post for a clear open goal and he misses his opportunity for his hattrick! Just clearly couldn't figure his feet out and the game remains 0 - 2 to the visitors. Yamal tries to give Lewandowski a chance after this as well by hanging a cross in for him but he strikes over the bar on that effort, the whole team was behind the top scorer to get a clasico hattrick. Back to Madrid's efforts though - Modric chips in a dangerous looking cross and Bellingham gets to the end of it but can't figure out his feet, a combination of confusion and Pena standing him up leads the ball to stumbled out of play for a goal kick. Once again Mbappe finds himself behind the Barca line and this time not offside, but frustratingly Pena was up to the challenge and stood strong in front of the shot, he was keeping his clean sheet by any means necessary. Just before the 80 minutes marks, we had a moment to remember - Raphina bursts away from his man and plays through Lamine Yamal who runs to what seems to be a wider and wider angle but then, with his weaker foot, he absolutely smashes the ball into the top netting of Lunin's net, 0 -3 Barcelona. Still the Madrid front two were going for it, Vini Jr decides togo direct and attack the box himself only for Martinez to stand him up and block it well, frustration for the Ballon D'or elect. When you thought it couldn't get any worse for the home side, in the last 5 minutes of regulation play, Raphina gets played through by a long ball from Martinez, the ball runs into the 18 yard box and he manages to lift it over the advancing Lunin, as it hanged in the air, Vasquez tried to make the goal line clearance but ended up hitting the ball into the net himself, it was already over the line by this point though and the Barca captain left his mark on the game as well, 0 - 4 Barcelona. The crowd at the Bernabeu had largely seen enough and started to vacate the stadium, the away fans were loud and proud in their own corner of the stadium though, it was a party in that section. The game rounded out with two final attacking opportunities, Yamal playing Olmo through for his shot to be skied and finally Vini getting service from Mbappe but seeing his shot saved by Pena, that clean sheet means everything to the interim goalkeeper. That was it for the end of the game, unlike clasico's of old, there wasn't multiple minutes of added time for fighting and injuries etc, the game ended there with the home crowd letting the players know their feelings to the loss. A huge night for Barcelona for the table, stopping the record being broken, getting first clasico goals for Raphina and Yamal and most importantly for the coaching team - a proof that the high line was definitely worth the risk and it paid off beautifully. Not the season decider just yet, but it puts Barcelona in a good position to go on and get themselves top of the table for the new year period, it's there's to give away. Madrid however will learn a lot from this match but they're never really out of the race so we will see how the table looks at the next clasico!
Comments