Another big test for Barça is at hand today when the exciting Clásico rears its head again. Barça have Real Madrid right where they want them but can they be ruthless and finish them off?
Back in October, that gut-wrenching 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the Spanish capital left a lingering taste of disappointment in Luis Enrique and the Blaugrana players. We knew Barça were good but we were not sure if this team had the intestinal fortitude to be great. Times have changed since then.
Barça have had a superb 2015 with outstanding overall performances in all three competitions thus far. They got a favorable draw on Friday when they got paired with PSG for the Champions League Quarter-Finals while Real Madrid got paired with Atlético Madrid. Talks of a treble are still premature and part of it is because of this match today.
Barça’s recent history against Real Madrid has been something of a yo-yo, especially at the Camp Nou. Since the 2010-2011 season, Barça have won 2 of their 4 matches at the Camp Nou in league Clásicos. Today will be their fifth league home match of the decade. A win today would put them four points ahead of Real Madrid with ten games to go. A win today would also put more pressure on Real Madrid and their manager Carlo Ancelotti and would put Los Blancos in disarray.
Barça have squandered precious moments like this in the past where they had their foot on Real Madrid’s neck and somehow allowed them to get back up and gain some momentum. Today is another test to see if they can add more to Real Madrid’s misery or will they somehow stumble and give their arch rivals a boost to their self-confidence. Barça must become ruthless again and begin exerting their dominance against their rivals much like they had under Pep during his first three seasons as Barça manager. Today will be a telling sign if Barça can be that ruthless again and finish off Real Madrid.
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