Totally Different Barca Performance

Last night’s second leg in Copa del Rey semifinals between Real Madrid and archrival Barcelona at Camp Nou was indeed another “El Clasico” matchup. But Barca played a totally different performance in front of the home fans that resulted in the same outcome when they played AC Milan at San Siro last week. What’s more painful, this time they were demolished by its fierce rival Real Madrid right at their own turf. 

Perhaps, Real Madrid learned a lesson or two from what AC Milan did when they stunned the football world by defeating the Catalans (2-0) with excellent defensive walls and limiting the passing lane. Barcelona’s highly structured “Tiki-taka” style of play failed to produce victory in two successive big occasions and can only manage a single goal against five (AC Milan -2; Real -3).

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More similarities can be found in AC Milan and Real’s magical night, by containing the passing lane with organized defensive walls but Mourinho has also deployed a clinical counterattack that caught the Catalans flat-footed, exposing again the vulnerability of their defense. In fact, Ronaldo’s two goals are a direct result from excellent counterattacking strategy and were very evident throughout the match. Or maybe, that is just what “El Clasico” is being played. 

Stats say that it was Barcelona’s worst defeat among “El Clasico’s” since losing at the Bernabeu in 2008. And the last time Real Madrid won 3-1 at Camp Nou, they won the Copa del Rey by beating Sevilla. And if there’s more coincidence of it, Sevilla on the other hand, is hosting Atletico Madrid tonight in the other second leg semifinal match but the Sevillistas is thrilling 1-2 in aggregate.

A Crucial Match for Barca

I was talking in my previous post about the crucial eight days that will define Real’sseason and perhaps Jose Mourinho’s fate as Real Madrid’s manager. A lot of rumors coming out and of all sorts there is that have something to do with the erratic games of Los Blancos in the past six months. They either draw or win in big games but were the exact opposite against mid-table and struggling teams, in general.

Real is highly spirited after thrashing Sevilla (4-1) at the Bernabeu on 9 February but can only manage to a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the same pitch four days later. Then they barely managed a 2-0 win against Rayo Vallecano on 17 February and almost lost to bottom club Deportivo six days later as Mourinho rested several key players in preparation for another “El Clasico” matchup in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semis at Camp Nou.

While Barca just came from a stunning 0-2 loss at San Siro in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie against AC Milan. Milan, on the other hand, was able to find ways on how to tame Barca’s highly structured tactical framework of attacking and created an almost impenetrable defense. More so that Milan hasn’t conceded an away goal and today’s “El Clasico” will be a crucial match for Barcelona if they want to progress in the Champions League quarterfinals.

NB: Image from wikipedia.

Eight Days That Will Define Real Madrid’s Season

To the fans of Real Madrid, we all know that their current La Liga season is an ongoing roller coaster ride and defending the La Liga title is almost impossible. Perhaps, even Mourinho has already given up the pursuit for another La Liga title and was instead focusing on other important titles that are still very viable to accomplish. 

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As of the moment, Real Madrid lays third place in La Liga standing with a massive 15 points to catch up the league leader and arch rival Barca, making it very gloomy to overtake with the current performance displayed by Barcelona. And when Real Madrid had a 1-1 draw against Manchester United in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, their upcoming games within the span of eight days, will define Real’s season starting on the 26th February. 

First, the Los Blancos will face Barca at Camp Nou on 26 February for the second leg in their Copa del Rey semis. Madrid earned a 1-1 draw in the first leg and a win will give them a better chance to finish the season with silverware. A loss would mean giving all they got to at least trim Barcelona’s 15-point advantage in the second El Clasico at Bernabeu on 2 March. And lastly, if they don’t succeed, they will have one more chance to salvage a trophy-less season in the return leg against Manchester United at Old Trafford three days later (5 March) for another break in their pursuit of “La Decima”. 

That is indeed, a crucial eight days to define Real’s Season.