Barcelona FC Crafts Another Clásico Victory

There’s a desperate look that everyone around the Bernabeu stadium is sporting these days.  The expression is blank, the shoulders are hunched, the arms are raised in utter, unutterable frustration—an image that lends one to believe the helpless figure is seeking guidance from above. 

Such is the state of every Real Madrid player, fan and club official. Even the “special one” is just a touchline shadow when it comes to playing against their archrivals, Barcelona. 

In the latest edition of “El Clásico”—the second one played in a matter of two months at Madrid’s home ground—Barça cruised to a 2-1 Copa del Rey quarterfinal first-leg victory. 

The second leg at the Nou Camp next Wednesday may be a mere formality after Eric Abidal punched home the winner in the 77th minute. That was from a sublime Leo Messi lob pass over what remained of Madrid’s rag tired defense.  

Counting the two-legged Supercopa final that started the La Liga season, this was the fourth encounter this season between the Spanish giants.

The tally favors Barcelona with three wins (two in a row now at the Bernabeu), with one draw (2-2, the first leg of the Supercopa). 

In fact, the drought of the Los Merengues victory was only quenched once in last 12 meetings between the clubs. (That was last year’s Copa del Rey final.) 

If not for a Cristiano Ronaldo’s header in extra time last spring, Madrid’s last trophy would have been three years ago when they won the 2008 Supercopa. 

For Real, there is simply no escaping the cloud of Barcelona’s dominance.  Worse yet, each encounter—however pulsating with the promise of a change in tides—only reinforces the undeniably of who the better squad is and why.

Before the match even began, Mourinho made vital concessions to his counterpart.  In deference to Barcelona’s ball possession offense, Mourinho inserted Hamit Altintop at right back and—after several months off for back injury—Ricardo Carvalho in central defense. 

Altintop was an especially unconventional move—given that his natural position is on the wing in the midfield and that he’s only featured off the bench this year.  Superficially, at least, Altintop’s technical skills might have served to neutralize Iniesta on the left wing. 

The move also allowed for Pepe to move into the middle of a defensive 4-3-3 formation that was intended to bite at the ankles of Barças skilled ball handlers and clog the passing lanes. 

The “Genius” and his modified lineup failed once again to catalyze into an effective effort.  Ronaldo’s 11th-minute, left-footed strike on a counter attack briefly exposed Barça's high defensive line and gave the Madrileños another early lead.

But it wasn’t too long before Barcelona had reestablished control, upped their tempo and pushed closed to Iker Casillas’s goal.  They created several legitimate chances to equalize before the halftime whistle.

Carlos Puyol’s diving header from a corner was fitting reward for what the Blaugrana had built in the first half and fitting punishment for Madrid’s sleepy defending. 

The score line read 1-1 three minutes into the restart, but the pitch was already noticeably titled towards Madrid’s end. 

Then, in spite of themselves, Los Blancos could only chase in the midfield after the vapor trails of typically exquisite Barça passing. They resorted to cynical fouls the like which have come to characterize recent Clásicos. 

Strong cases could have been made that Pepe and Carvalho deserved expulsions after their encounters with Messi.  Pepe stomped on Messi’s hand as he was on the ground after a challenge.  Carvalho chopped him down from behind when the Player of Year was breaking in the midfield. 

In this game, as in the others, the more Real lost their cool, the more Barcelona exhibited calm and control on the ball. 

They continued to thread passes through abusing Madrid’s fluctuating back line, the breakthrough  was finally capped by the unlikely figure of Abidal on the end of Messi’s lob. Abidal controlled it down from his chest to poke it by Casillas before a sliding Carvalho could break up the play. 

What this Clasico reinforces is that the more the two teams play—regardless of the setting or competition—the larger the chasm grows between them. 

For all of Mourinho’s motivational speak and tactical efforts, he continues to fall short of cracking the code—or even worrying Pep Guardiola’s side into anything outside of their comfort zone. 

Despite their own star-studded roster, the realization for Madrid must be as stark as the lopsided nature of the series in recent time.  They are simply not good enough to topple the Catalans from their perch atop world football.  

Barcelona’s network of skilled footballers who can plug in at virtually any position is a revolution in progress. 

Perhaps only those who hold the blueprints at La Masia, Barça’s famed academy, know the flaws, if any, an opponent might be able to exploit. 

As evident from another commanding performance, Barcelona looks likely to repeat their success in Clásicos to come.  Divine intervention may not even be enough for Real Madrid in overcoming their historical foes.

Upcoming Real Madrid vs. Barcelona games:

@Nou Camp, Wednesday, January 25 for the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinal.

@Nou Camp, Sunday, April 22, for a league fixture.