UEFA Champions League: Can Real Madrid Challenge Barcelona?

In a routine win at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid thrashed Lyon 3-0 to progress to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in seven years. 

Marcelo Vieira opened the scoring with a magical goal to show why he should be considered more often by Brazil, before Karim Benzema marked his stellar rise in form with a coolly slotted finish. Angel Di Maria proved his worth as well by wrapping up the third. 

Overall, it was a top performance by Jose Mourinho's men, who looked totally unaffected by any pressure or nerves as they pulled together to get that last 16 hoodoo off their backs.

From the start, Los Galácticos looked like the team far more likely to go through, as they took the game to Lyon.  They bombarded the Ligue 1 side early on and carried on at a high tempo for most of the match. 

The game never looked in doubt for Real, despite centre-back duo Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho getting booked early on.  The score also could've been much higher had it not been for the excellent Hugo Lloris, a keeper who's destined for a bigger club in the next few years (Manchester United or Arsenal perhaps).

On the pitch, it seemed clear Mourinho and his technical staff have masterminded the one potential challenger this season to Barcelona when it comes to taking the UEFA Champions League crown.

Whilst it doesn't appear likely Real Madrid will overhaul Barca in La Liga with their five point gap, anything can happen in a one-off game in Europe.

Judging from both their performance at home to Lyon and their drubbing at the Camp Nou, anything can happen with Madrid.

After the Lyon game, however, it seems Real might just be able to halt the Barca juggernaut, which is the undeniable favourite to lift that coveted trophy at Wembley.

For a start, Mourinho and his staff have managed to instil fluid teamwork and a sense of togetherness in this Real Madrid team, which has been lacking for the past seven years.   

Players like Mesut Ozil, Angel Di Maria, Marcelo, Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso all seem to be on the same wavelength as Karim Benzema, Emmanuel Adebayor and Cristiano Ronaldo (and Gonzalo Higuain when he was fit).  The intricate passing they all seem to be capable of in the final third, are crucial to penetrating tight opposition defences.

Lyon centre-backs Cris and Dejan Lovren (especially Lovren) proved again at the Bernabeu they'd be tough nuts to crack.  Although, the crisp one-twos (as demonstrated in particular for Marcelo's goal), well-timed through balls and pass-and-go plays opened up two of Europe's best defenders, expertly.

This Real side also play more like a team, psychologically accepting responsibility for their mistakes.  They are more willing to bail out their teammates (e.g. when Sergio Ramos helped clear the ball after Iker Casillas struggled to push the ball out) and are showing less frustration when teammates make mistakes (well, Ronaldo aside, that is).

And as "The Special One" has been able to put his blueprint on the team more, this team has become increasingly good at executing fashionable catenaccio, i.e. mixing strong defensive discipline with a big emphasis on attacking play.

The "doble pivote" of Alonso and Khedira is becoming increasingly successful as the duo build up a good understanding and chemistry.  They either give license for Marcelo, or sometimes Ramos, to really push forward, or allow one of the two (Khedira or Alonso) to move forward and provide extra options in the final third.

Mourinho has also found a way to get the best out of Karim Benzema, with the three-pronged attack behind him of Ronaldo, Ozil and Di Maria.  These three give Benzema the opportunity to use his best qualities, positioning and finishing, by exploiting pockets of space and finishing with aplomb—as he proved against his former club in both matches.

Of course, questions still remain about the back four, as left-back Marcelo has been left wanting defensively at times, while centre-back Pepe proved again, as he lashed out at Aly Cissokho, that he's a bit temperamental, which can affect his performance as well as earn him a red card.

But all in all, this is a Real Madrid side designed to stop a rolling juggernaut like fierce rivals Barcelona.

Their general 4-2-3-1 formation allows for at least nine to get behind the ball quickly, with the two holding midfielders.  This means Mourinho can apply strict marking where required.

Also, having a team chemistry to match Barcelona's, again means Real could rise to the challenge.  A floating and inter-linking front three behind a main striker (and the fact they have Ronaldo in their team) gives the Galacticos a real attacking prowess on the counter-attack and quality further up the field that allows the team to start their defence from the front.

And with two flying full-backs who perform exactly the same roles, Mourinho can use Ramos and Marcelo to nullify the potential threat of Dani Alves and Maxwell.

As Real Madrid proved against a Lyon team that did show flashes of talent at the Bernabeu, Los Galácticos are a match for anybody, including their archenemies and European free-scorers Barcelona.

Follow Yoosof Farah on Twitter @TheSportsJourno