El Clasico Gives Learning Curve for Luis Enrique and Signs of Barcelona Attack
Barcelona might have come off second best in El Clasico this past weekend, giving Luis Enrique his first domestic defeat as head coach of the Catalan club in the process, but there was much more to the game than simply who had the best final-third players.
The new boss was always likely to be questioned at some point during the season due to his relative inexperience, but perhaps there were a few factors which didn't quite go the way he expected in the defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu.
While he will undoubtedly learn from them, they did come at a cost on the day—but the new-look attack of Barcelona was a change he will look forward to repeating frequently and often.
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Defensive Third
Perhaps it was no surprise that Real won, given they were at home and in great form, but it is testament to Claudio Bravo's start at Barcelona that it took a penalty kick, from the world's most in-form player, just over half an hour into his ninth game, to finally beat him.
In front of the keeper, though, there were one or two choice decisions to be made by Enrique—and his choices were perhaps both surprising and telling.
Gerard Pique has been anything but a first choice for the club this season, sitting out the early part of the campaign and battling even for a bench spot with Marc Bartra at times. Javier Mascherano and Jeremy Mathieu, meanwhile, initially formed a very good partnership in the centre of defence, and the Frenchman in particular had been a great source of both strength and recovery ability. Moving him out to the left gave more dominance against the threat from wide, perhaps, but removed him from the heart of the action.
Pique conceded the penalty and was not exactly dominant for the other two goals, either, one off a set piece and one on the break.
"Alves-Pique-Mascherano-Mathieu was on Saturday the 9th different back four Barcelona used this season, in 12 games #fcblive [via md]
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) October 27, 2014"
Middle Third
It could never really be termed a mistake to start a match with Xavi Hernandez; to do so would be grossly disrespectful of an outstanding talent and, more to the point, would be negligent in the extreme as to how his form has been this season.
On the other hand, the omission of Ivan Rakitic was surprising.
The Croatian playmaker has slotted seamlessly into the Barcelona lineup and looks every inch the part, both on and off the ball. His technique and guile would have been a boost, but more than that, his off-the-ball running is something no other Barca midfielder can offer. Rakitic breaks into the box at times and works back ferociously.
A slight frame, he nevertheless would have added more steel and energy in a high-octane surrounding, something which Barcelona at times definitely lacked.
With Andres Iniesta departing through injury during the match and set for a spell on the sidelines, Rakitic and Xavi will now likely be set to play together over the coming weeks.
"Sunday morning tests have confirmed that Andrés Iniesta has an injured right soleus http://t.co/9vz061F9Gt pic.twitter.com/8lRPff8t0Z
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 26, 2014"
"No Iniesta for three weeks. The magician suffers from a calf muscle injury.... Time for Rafinha to have his opportunity. #AnimsDonAndres
— Nora Guardiola. (@NoraVilanova_) October 27, 2014"
Final Third
Where Enrique made another bold decision was to start straight off with Luis Suarez in the team. Lacking game time he might be, but the Uruguayan has never needed long to get into the swing of things, and so it proved in El Clasico; three minutes on the clock was all it took for his first tangible moment of link-up play, setting up Neymar for the game's opening goal.
"Neymar stuns the Bernabeu! Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona after 4 minutes #ElClasico [via @AckerAnthony] http://t.co/D0DfzsSIQI
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) October 25, 2014"
Suarez also came close to providing another assist for Lionel Messi with another driven cross from the right.
That front three will be the envy of every side in La Liga and beyond—perhaps with the exception of that which bested them on Saturday. Carlo Ancelotti has found a way to integrate all his key players into a system, helped somewhat by Gareth Bale's slight injury issue of late.
Enrique has to do the same, not just in his attack—which picks itself by and large—but also through the very spine of his team.
He maybe got one or two big choices wrong against Real, but sitting top of La Liga and, despite conceding those three goals, still with the best defensive record in Spain, there's not too much to criticise Luis Enrique for after his first disappointing result.
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