Barca came out triumphant, yet more astute tactics would’ve
meant Madrid gaining three points
After visiting the Camp Nou personally last week and seeing
the attacking trio of Messi, Pedro and Alexis rip apart allied with the support
of the wonderful Iniesta it appeared that Martina had his ideal attack. Yes it
was only Osasuna and it was relatively speaking an easy game, 7-0 reflects
this. Yet Barca were sublime, their movement, support and speed of play scintillating.
The 4-3-3 was in effect, each player knew their role, their position, the balance was excellent. Therefore coming in to the Clasico one would have thought that
Martino would change Pique for Bartra. However he could not resist tampering
with the team and it almost cost Barca the game last night.
Madrid were seen as favourites for this tie, and rightly so.
Their recent form both in the league and Europe had proven that Ancelotti had
found ‘balance’ with the side. After tampering in the early games in an
attempt to find the balance he realised that trying to fit in players like Isco would not work. A 4-3-3 with Modric and Di Maria in the centre along
with Xabi Alonso had proved a great success. And the front three of Ronaldo,
Benzema and Bale were proving as formidable a strikeforce in Europe. It seemed
Madrid were more focused, ready and more ‘balanced’ than Barca.
Martino's tinkering
When the teams were announced and Benzema was playing it looked
more promising for Madrid. With Martino deciding to drop Pedro and Alexis and
play Cesc and Neymar instead it pointed towards a skewered 4-3-3 system which Barca
have shown to not favour.
The issue between the players and coach still centres
around the desire to stay true to what Guardiola imbedded compared to what
Martino (and perhaps Rossell) desires. In players like Cesc and Neymar you have
players who struggle to stay in their role, who enjoy the freedom to roam.
Unfortunately Barca were so regimented under Guardiola that these players
struggle to fit in with the tactical ethos of the side. Both are good players
and have proven their talents with goals and assists. However in a game of this
magnitude and against such opposition it was going to be difficult for Barca to play so 'free'.
Incredibly Barca would take the lead, the goal coming from
Iniesta who was playing left wing to accommodate Cesc in the middle (personally
a mistake). He found a huge space to exploit as Carvajal had tucked in too
narrow in order to close the space centrally to deny Messi. Iniesta obliged and
scored a rocket. Advantage Barca.
However Madrid started to grow into the game,
Benzema had already missed a great chance yet the signs were there that Barca
were open to be exposed. It was Di Maria who would steal the acclaim in the
first half, exploiting overload opportunities down the left wing, exposing Dani
Alves defensive failings and Neymar’s unwillingness to track back. However
questions should be on Busquets and Xavi for not tracking and supporting their
right back also.
Di Maria punished them twice with delicate crosses into Benzema who
put away a header and a great two touch volley. Mascherano’s positioning was
exposed twice and Barca now looked vulnerable. In a moment which could have killed the game another cross from the left eventually found Benzema whose hat trick goal was denied by Pique on
the line. One thinks that may have been it for Barca at this point, they were
looking like a boxer in the fourth round, on the ropes. That goal would have
been the knockout blow.
Yet they persevered, as all great sides do and they continued and looked to build the play. However they were struggling for any penetration, looking lost of ideas and
creativity. Neymar was killing others space, Iniesta was looking wasted on the left and Messi was appearing
sluggish and disinterested. Yet this is where he is most dangerous, and so it
proved. Messi picked up the ball and in a flash played a pass into the heart of
the Madrid defence. He got it back, beat Ramos and found Neymar with an
excellent right foot reverse pass. He continued to follow in and like all the
greats the ball fell to him and in two touches the ball was in the back of the
net. Like that Barca were alive again.
Incidences or exploiting space?
The second half became about the referee for many yet for me it was about the players defensively. Ronaldo, who for most of the game had been
absent found space and drove into the area. Now Mascherano should have seen the
threat and fouled him earlier but Alves finally got to him, yes it was outside
the area but it was close and the penalty was given. Ronaldo put it away, which
somehow for the commentator proved how great he was (his non-existence before
apparently ignored). 3-2 and you think Madrid have got this now.
And yet the following passage highlighted a concern for the
team going forward as much as the game itself. Messi, once again like in the
first half was given too much time to pick up the ball between the units and play forward. Twice
in the first half he had punished Madrid and Barca had scored yet Madrid allowed him to get it again. Ancelotti surely should have addressed this key issue at half time (Mourinho spent his entire time at Madrid obsessing about it!).
This time he picked the ball up around the half way line and was not
closed down well enough by any of Madrid’s midfield (even though four were ‘near’
him). With his head up and space to play into Messi is one of the best playmakers/killer
pass experts in the game (just the complete 10) and he found Neymar’s run
(finally he made a penetrative run behind the defence). Ramos was committed, he
did trip Neymar the red was justified.
The game became all about Messi and Madrid’s inability
to deal with him when dropping deep. This was the story and key aspect of the
game. In fact this has been the story of Barcelona since Messi moved centrally. Incredibly the answer to how you stop him still hasn't been properly answered. Yet how Ancelotti approached was certainly not right.
Ancelotti's arrogance, Alonso's unsuitability
In the first game at the Camp Nou Ancelotti got creative and
sought to play Ramos in the holding midfield role to nullify Messi. It didn’t work. In this game
however he got ahead of himself and believed too much in his team. He thought
his front three would be too much for Barca and that he would win the battle of
the goals.
Although Madrid did create many chances, especially in the first
half it was their inability to deal with Messi in between the lines, allowing
him to turn and play forward, which was his downfall.
Only this week had Xabi
Alonso voiced his concern with the 4-3-3 because of the lack of defensive balance
it provides and he was proved right in this game. In fact the irony is that his
words reflected poorly on himself. Quite simply he is not good enough to be a
single pivot. He is best with a destroyer a la Mascherano, Khedira or even
Busquets next to him. Simply put Alonso is suited to a double pivot.
Modric and Di Maria offer the side a lot in a possession, attacking sense yet although they work hard are not classic defensive type midfielders. Yet neither is Alonso and there is a concern that Ancelotti’s system is weak defensively in this area. The fact Alonso conceded the penalty against Iniesta with a cynical and foolish challenge highlighted his poor performance. As great a player he is, Madrid are vulnerable with him in this single pivot.
Now against the lesser
sides Madrid’s attacking force simply dominates and these flaws are not seen,
yet Barca exploited them and came out winners.
Vertical penetration required
And this is where Martino should be blamed. Had he played
Pedro he would have had the penetrative depth which Barca were lacking on which
could have destroyed Madrid. One only has to think of the 5-0 demolition in
November 2010 when Messi destroyed Madrid in the 10 role, providing killer
passes for Villa and Pedro.
Had Martino used Alexis and Pedro the game could
have been even better for Barca. And when Pedro came on his energy and drive
behind the defence was evidently worrying for Madrid. Yet in fairness to Neymar, his run to win
the penalty was significant for the game and his own Barca career. He needs to
be this player more. He is too concerned with dropping deep into central areas,
congesting others space. He must be more disciplined and play for the team.
Pedro does this and thus offers the side and system so much more.
Ultimately this was a game which Martino got wrong initially
and which had Pique not blocked Benzema’s shot it could have been a Madrid rout.
Yet Madrid could not take their chances and they afforded Messi too much space
to punish them.
It makes the title race very interesting indeed. Once again
Barca and Messi manage to get a result even when it seemed they couldn’t.
And on a
final note, for the combined value of Bale and Ronaldo both were distinctly
average, a worry for Madrid as the business end approaches and the quality of competition
increases. I touted Madrid for league and Europe double yet watching them last
night and you see they have their vulnerabilities. Yet not every side has a
player of the greatness of Messi.
The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address
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