This article was first published on footballromance.com (a predecessor to this website) in December 2016.
Line-ups
Much of the pre-match talk centred on the fitness of Andres Iniesta, who was ultimately not deemed ready to start and instead took up a place on the bench. Luis Enrique therefore stuck with the same XI which started the 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad, even though the Asturian had been fiercely critical of their performance.
Los Blancos also performed poorly in a narrow 2-1 home victory over Sporting Gijon last time out. From that side Zinedine Zidane made four changes; Dani Carvajal, Rafael Varane and Marcelo came into a completely remodelled back four, while Isco was preferred to James Rodriguez in midfield.
Isco’s role
Isco’s role was perhaps Zidane’s most interesting tactical move, as the ex-Malaga man was given two specific defensive-minded tasks to perform in the centre of the park. He was the only Real Madrid midfielder to chase down opponents high up the field whenever Barça were circulating the ball slowly – which they did more often than Enrique would have liked – and he had time to make up the ground.
Isco’s other defensive responsibility was to help plug gaps in central areas alongside Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic, neither of whom found themselves ahead of the ball very often whenever Real were in possession. Isco’s role was considerably more dynamic and despite his occasional forays forward, his average position was actually deeper than those of either of his two teammates.
Real limiting space in the middle
The result was that there was very little space in the middle of the field for Los Azulgranas to try and play through. There was just one ‘classic Barça’ move in the opening period; in the eighth minute Sergio Ramos was forced to come out of central defence to challenge Lionel Messi, who skipped past and played the ball left to Neymar, unmarked due to Dani Carvajal being forced to cover Luis Suarez in the middle. The Brazilian found himself in an extremely promising position inside the area, only to lose his footing at the crucial moment.
It was the only time in the half that Messi received the ball facing the Madrid goal and was one-on-one with an opposing defender. Modric, his reading of the play typically impeccable, and Kovacic made several key interceptions to stop balls being played into the feet of Suarez or Messi in particular, while the Uruguayan was very much second-best in his battles with the touch-tight Ramos and Raphael Varane whenever the hosts succeeded in feeding the ball into him.
Barca’s other threatening breaks forward came when they played more directly after winning the ball inside their own half; only an offside flag denied Suarez the opportunity to run clean through on goal following a Real Madrid corner and the same player had a shot blocked after Neymar had exposed a rare forward run from Carvajal.
Left-wing attacks favoured
Both teams favoured left-wing attacks, with Messi looking to do the majority of his work in the middle and Cristiano Ronaldo spending the first quarter of the game positioned mainly on that flank – but casting desperate glances infield – before moving up front to partner Karim Benzema.
Lucas Vazquez’s discipline meant Jordi Alba’s attacking threat was extremely limited (the normally marauding Barca left-back touched the ball in the opposition box only three times in the entire match), the winger and Carvajal also doubling up to keep Neymar fairly quiet. At the other end of the field, Sergi Roberto and Ivan Rakitic were also rarely involved going forward, both players constantly forced to look infield by virtue of Messi’s positioning ahead of them.
They were, however, given plenty of defensive work to do, mainly because of the fact that Marcelo, often with no direct opponent, was Madrid’s main outball. Only a last-ditch block from Gerard Pique prevented the Brazilian from getting a shot away after he had cleverly drawn Roberto out of defence and spun in behind.
A rare foray over to the left from Vazquez almost led to the opening goal, the Spanish international easily skipping past Roberto and crossing for Benzema, whose volley was blocked. The brilliant Modric, who misplaced only three of his 62 passes, then nipped in front of Messi to start a lightning counter-attack which, with Rakitic and Roberto upfield in anticipation of a pass, allowed Ronaldo to pull out to the left, run directly at Pique and fire in an effort on goal.
Messi positioning and uncharacteristic failures
As is often the case in matches in which Barcelona fail to assert themselves, Messi began to drop deeper and deeper in order to get on the ball in the first half, only to be frustrated by a lack of space to run into and Suarez being marked out of the game.
He continued this ploy throughout the second period and did have some joy, playing a part in helping his team dictate play in midfield. It was the Argentinian, for instance, who instigated the move which led to the free-kick headed in by Suarez, whose own movement out to the left had made space for Neymar to receive a dangerous pass into feet and draw a foul from Varane.
However, there were a couple of key situations that he could undoubtedly have made more of. The first came right at the start of the half; with Kovacic and Marcelo slow to react to Isco losing the ball on the opposite flank, Messi had the chance to play Rakitic clean through, only to uncharacteristically fail to spot the pass. At 1-0 up, a superb through-ball from Iniesta found Messi in space behind Casemiro and between Ramos and Varane; the Argentinian dragged wide from a position he has repeatedly scored from over the years.
Iniesta controlling the tempo and direction of Barça’s passing
Key to Barca’s greater control in the second period was the introduction of Andres Iniesta just before the hour. In some ways the schemer did his job to perfection (96% pass completion), although he ultimately failed in the sense that his team failed to close the game out (not that he can be blamed in the slightest).
Iniesta sped up the tempo of Los Azulgranas’ passing, which made it tougher for the Madrid midfield to keep their shape (the fact that Zidane’s men had to attack more after falling behind obviously played a part in this too). On several occasions Sergio Busquets, who roared back to form with a series of big tackles, Messi and Iniesta, Barça’s main passing hubs, played balls right through the middle of the visitors, even after Casemiro had come on to sit in front of Ramos and Varane; at one stage, a Busquets pass to Andre Gomes took out no fewer than five Real men.
Another example of this, which took place almost immediately afterwards, led to a moment which proved crucial in terms of the outcome of the game. A somewhat risky ball to Busquets from Marc-Andre Ter Stegen lured both Modric and Kovacic upfield and Busquets’ subsequent pass left both stranded, allowing first Messi then Iniesta to work the ball unchallenged out to Neymar, who should really have scored after bamboozling Carvajal in a one-on-one situation.
Strong start and end by Real
Madrid’s most promising attacking moments came right at the start and then at the end of the second period. They struggled in between, typified by the fact that Ronaldo touched the ball only eight times in a 23-minute spell following Iniesta’s arrival.
Left-wing attacks again looked to be a good bet; a better pass would have sent Benzema clear down that side of the field, while an incorrect offside decision thwarted Vazquez in an almost identical position.
Few options for Marcelo
Marcelo was unsurprisingly more adventurous after Real had conceded, although his ventures forward were on the whole slightly less successful than in the first half. Rakitic was more vigilant than he had been in the opening period up until he was replaced, while Gomes performed a similar role reasonably effectively after Iniesta had come on for the Croat.
Again, Marcelo had few options directly ahead of him (until Marco Asensio made an appearance with 13 minutes remaining) and as a result was forced into sending a number of crosses into the area. Only one of five found its intended target, although it led to a good late chance for Ronaldo, who had peeled away to the back post unmarked but saw his header blocked.
Asensio’s presence had helped create space for Marcelo to deliver that cross, but it was the introduction of fellow sub Mariano Diaz which (indirectly) proved more pivotal. The Dominican played only eight minutes in total but his tenacity and relentless chasing ensured Barça were unable to keep the ball in defence or midfield as they looked to take the sting out of the game.
The final few minutes of the contest took place in Barcelona territory, but Enrique’s side have only themselves to blame for failing to hang on. In addition to guilt-edged misses from Messi and Neymar, there was a ridiculous foul given away by sub Arda Turan on Marcelo, followed by a subsequent slip from Javier Mascherano which allowed Ramos to head in Modric’s free-kick, although the ex-Sevilla man looked to have stolen a march on his marker anyway.
What next?
Barcelona will have to deal with the psychological blow of being on the cusp of reducing the deficit at the top of the table to just three points, only to have it doubled again by Ramos’ late header. Enrique will be troubled by his team’s attacking over-dependence on the front three, who were expertly shackled in the opening period. The likes of Rakitic, Gomes and the full-backs brought little to the hosts’ offensive play, while Iniesta once again proved how crucial he remains; Los Azulgranas’ midfield lacks invention and poise without him.
Real Madrid have had their critics despite an incredible unbeaten run, which now stretches to 33 matches. How many of them have they actually played particularly well in? That’s a debate for another day and in any case El Clasico is all about the result, rather than the performance. Zidane’s first-half tactics worked to perfection, but they needed several crucial moments to go in their favour in the second. However, this is, of course, not the first time they have struck late to take something from a hugely important fixture and Los Blancos continue to show the kind of attitude which suggests it will extremely difficult to knock them off top spot.