FC Barcelona got to exact revenge on Real Madrid for their loss earlier in the season and in the process, increased their lead atop of the standings to four points. The victory was a boost to the confidence of the Blaugrana and redemption for some.
When Barça lost in the Spanish capital to Real Madrid during week 9, Barça had a one point lead atop of the standings. They would soon lose the top spot to Madrid and struggle the rest of the 2014. They started 2015 off horribly when they lost away to Real Sociedad. Things changed from then on but there was still some doubt about Barça heading into this weekend’s Clásico.
This match was redemption for Luis Enrique and for some of his players. For the manager, many, including myself, criticized his unpredictable approach to coaching this team following that loss. He opted to keep his starting eleven a secret till right before kickoff and his tactics were all wrong after Real Madrid simply had their way against Barça. Fortunately, he got it right this time, now that he has settled on a starting eleven, following the urging from some of the players to stick with a consistent lineup after the fallout from that Real Sociedad loss. Since then, the team has played better than before and even a recent loss to Malaga at the Camp Nou did not create a sense of panic among the fans. Bad days happen and the Malaga loss was seen as a minor hiccup. Real Madrid sputtering at the same time probably helped keep the mood calm in Barcelona.
Credit is due to Luis Enrique and his assistant, Juan Carlos Unzué, for improving this team from last season’s team in terms of fitness and how to attack/defend set pieces. There’s no doubt that the level of intensity that Lucho brought to this team’ training sessions has been significant compared to the light training sessions under Martino last season. The opening goal from Mathieu was a set piece designed by Unzué who could not hide his happiness during the goal celebrations. It was reminiscent of the Guardiola times where the late Tito Vilanova designed set pieces and Puyol scored one of his trademark header goals against Real Madrid after Xavi recommended a minor change to Tito in the plans. The communication between manager and players have improved and the payoff has been on full display ever since.
Another player who gained some redemption from El Clásico was Jeremy Mathieu. In the first Clásico, Luis Enrique started the Frenchman as a left back in place of Jordi Alba. His performance was poor that day and he raised some eyebrows when he stated that he was surprised that the manager picked him as a left back on game day. That suggested that Luis Enrique did not train the team to play with Mathieu as the left back nor give him ample time to mentally prepare for the role. Fortunately, Mathieu got to start the second Clásico, this time as a center back, and not only did he play well on defense; he even got to score! I can’t think of a better way for someone to redeem themselves in such situation.
This match was also redemption of some sorts for Pique, Rakitic, Claudio Bravo and Luis Suarez. Pique has taken abuse over the past few years for his inconsistent form but he was bossing the back four during Barça’s win against their arch rivals. Although he did not score, Rakitic put in a superb performance to make up for that poor appearance as a substitute in the first Clásico where his awful corner kick, also his first touch in the game, resulted in a counter attack goal for Los Blancos. For Claudio Bravo, this was his first taste of victory against Real Madrid during his time in the Spanish league and made some key saves too.
Finally, the other star seeking redemption was Luis Suarez. His signing created some controversy and discontent amongst fans following his World Cup biting incident. His first competitive Barça appearance was in the first Clásico where he assisted on a Neymar goal early into the match before he was subbed off later because he lacked match fitness. It took him some time but the Uruguayan has found his scoring boots and has played a key role in the Barça transformation. After a difficult summer, scoring a game winner in a game of this magnitude goes a long way over winning over the hearts of the doubtful Blaugrana faithful.
Ultimately, we cannot conclude this without mentioning Messi. He was somewhat silent in the first half as he played wide. Yet, it was his free kick that Mathieu nodded in for the opening goal. In the second half, he playing in the center of the pitch which helped the midfield out and after Luis Suarez’s goal, he along with Neymar and Luis terrorized Madrid’s tired team with dangerous counter attacks. He has been amazing in 2015 and we hope he can keep it up down the stretch.
The fact they squandered so many golden chances in the final 20 minutes of the match will give Luis Enrique something to discuss at the next team meeting. They cannot afford to squander these types of chances, especially one such as the Neymar missed opportunity that saw Madrid score moments later. There is room for improvement and a result like this will keep the players’ egos grounded which might not be the case if the score ended 4-1. Ten games left in the league but at least Barça control their own destiny even with Madrid, Valencia and Atlético in pursuit.
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