THERE IS NO LEWANDOWSKI, THERE IS FERRAND
March has just started and we were lucky to see the second El Clásico of the year. In mid-January, Barça stole the Spanish Super Cup from Real Madrid, and now they have reached the Santiago Bernabéu in the Cup semifinals. They arrived without the injured Robert Lewandowski, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele, so their composition cannot be described as optimal . In the center of the attack, Ferran Torres came out of despair.
But the composition of Real Madrid was familiar. Vinicius and Karim Benzema in their place, Federico Valverde on the far right, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in midfield. Nothing new. Even Nacho Fernández, who has gained excellent form on the left flank of the defense after Liverpool, is no longer surprising.
Given the recent meeting between the teams of Carlo Ancelotti and Xavi, it was an interesting meeting in the context of the work of both coaches. Papa Carlo said before the game that his team made several mistakes in the Super Bowl, but he would not repeat them. Their counterpart was even more difficult, because the Catalans lost in the last two games against Manchester United in the Europa League and Almería in the championship, and in the event of a third defeat in a row, the team could crack. So it was also vital for Xavi to think of something to at least not give up that night.
PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE PRESSURE Xavi
The culés offered high pressure to the rival. At first it seemed like it was in a kind of passive-aggressive format. They seemed to understand that with the combination of football geniuses Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, the creamy ones would come out of any pressure. So, the hosts for a long time, although not without difficulty, overcame the first obstacle and several times at the beginning of the meeting got to someone else’s penalty area.
However, in midfield three, in addition to Modric and Kroos, there is a much less sophisticated Eduardo Kamavinga. Gavi covered him in the opposite field at half time, starting an instant counterattack, which ended with an own goal from Eder Militao, who insulted Thibault Courtois’s rebound, which almost saved his teammates. Initially, the referee disallowed the goal for offside, Frank Kessier, but the VAR corrected it – Ferran Torres’s pass came at the right time.
This development of events is not expected. Suffice it to say that until minute 38 it was the only success for the guests, but that’s what Xavi is for. Without the necessary interpreters in the middle of the field, he does not cling to the tiki-taka with his blue fingers, but allows himself the audacity to adapt to the opponent. At least in the best games. At Old Trafford that adjustment didn’t work, but at the Santiago Bernabéu I was initially prepared to be more Getafe than Manchester City.
VINNY, WHERE ARE YOU?!
Xavi talked about Getafe and Man City before the game. He also assured that in order to achieve the result, his wards would have to endure a lot. And in the second half, this prediction came true to a much greater extent. “Real” locked the opponent in his half of the field, endlessly circling the penalty area and filling the guests with corners.
It will be a coincidence, but after the break Vinicius became more notorious, who was eaten by Ronald Araujo in the first half. For the Brazilian, the confrontation with this defender becomes a nightmare. Taking into account the friendly match in the USA, this was already the fourth meeting for him, and the total score in favor of the blaugrana … as much as 9: 1. Thus, in the second half, Vini received the ball much more and tried to find something, but neither found Benzema in the penalty area (he did it in the first half, but the Frenchman scored from a clear offside position), nor he. he managed to spin the ball into the corner.
In general, with all this pressure, the degree of which is demonstrated by the fact that even the center-back Militao scored two tens of meters from someone else’s penalty area, the creamy ones could not be honored at the moment. What’s more, Barça could well have doubled their advantage when Ferrand rushed down the right flank and found Kessie in the penalty area with a pass, but his shot blocked it… Ansu Fati.
In this way, Real Madrid, despite Ancelotti’s linear attempts to save the game (Rodrigo instead of Nacho, Álvaro Rodríguez instead of Modric), did not miss the goal and suffered the fourth Barça defeat in the last five matches. . The return match at the Camp Nou is scheduled for April 5, but before that, on March 19, the royal club awaits another trip to the Catalan capital – for the championship match, whose defeat will finally clear up all doubts about the title race.
Spain Cup. Semifinal. the first game
“Real” – “Barcelona” – 0:1 (0:1)
Goal: Militao, 26 – own goal – 0:1.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Nacho (Rodrigo 67), Camavinga, Kroos (Tchuameni 74), Valverde, Modric (A. Rodríguez 84), Vinicius, Benzema.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Araujo, Kunde, M. Alonso, A. Balde, F. de Jong, Busquets, Kessie (Roberto, 86), Rafinha (Fati, 69), Gavi, F. Torres.
Warnings: Vinicius, 24. Rafinha, 45. Gavi, 51. Nacho, 55. Kessier, 66. Valverde, 73.
Referee: Montero.
