There was a feeling of unease coming into this Clasico with José Mourinho making his return to the Camp Nou
.In the end, this version of Real Madrid under the special one was actually exactly who we thought they were going to be, and yet, Barcelona struggled to react and find solutions.
Before going into a righteous rant, it’s important to remind ourselves that the sky isn’t falling. The best path forward is to be calm and carry on. I’d much rather be Barcelona under Hansi Flick than Real Madrid under Mourinho.
It really is the difference between all that is good and bad in football.
Both teams are supremely talented, but Barcelona is the one who plays like protagonists. They were the ones who wanted the ball in order to create with it, while Real Madrid, as cynical as you would expect them to be under Mourinho, in spite of a roster full of world class players, sat back and waited for the Blaugrana to make mistakes.
That was the whole ballgame, and it worked.
Real Madrid implemented Mourinho’s tactics with aplomb. Eventually, Gerard Martín and Pau Cubarsí faltered in front of goal, and Kylian Mbappe was there to make them pay. Game over.
Barcelona had all of the meaningful possession, but it didn’t matter because Real Madrid was happy to give it to them. What mattered was not allowing them space to be dangerous in.
For the second big game in a row, Lamine Yamal, Barcelona’s superstar, put in a net negative performance. With the Ballon d’Or to be announced on Monday, he’ll head to the ceremony on the back of two defeats with Barca.
Hansi Flick took a big gamble this week, prioritizing the Clasico over the Champions League. I don’t blame him for making that choice, and frankly I’m frustrated on his behalf that he was so short-handed defensively for such a choice to even have to be made.
We can all have our opinions about what went wrong, but for me I can’t get over the fact that Barcelona, in October, are already running out of defenders.
In Flick’s system nonetheless, and with the knowledge brought to light over the past two seasons that this was the team’s greatest vulnerability, how in the hell did we end the summer with two less defenders on the roster?
I don’t even want to blame Cubarsí and Martín for their mistakes. Cubarsí is already being overloaded with minutes for Barcelona and Spain, while Martín has been playing this week while battling a niggling injury.
For all the good João Cancelo can do, he was not brought in, I hope at least, to be Barelona’s starting full-back in games like these where his attacking strengths would be overshadowed by his weaknesses defensively.
There were no good options for Flick this week. In part, is this his fault for not demanding more defenders, and better defenders, over the summer?
The reason I think we’ll all get over this week quickly is because Barcelona, at the end of the day, are a great team, and much better than Real Madrid when fully fit. I don’t mean to sound like a sore loser, I’m just calling a spade a spade.
Eric Garcia and Jules Kounde will be back soon. The games this week were the toughest tests of the first half of the season. Barcelona has time to learn from the mistakes they made in these two very disappointing losses.
More than anything, my frustration lies with the work, or lack there of, that was done in the summer transfer window.
Can this be remedied in January? If Barcelona want to repeat as Spanish champions, and be more serious as contenders in the Champions League, then my conclusion now is that they must add depth defensively.
Flick’s tactics work, but they are also very demanding, and he needs to be able to rotate at every position, and know that he won’t experience a big drop in quality. Right now, the defenders represent a big vulnerability.
Jose Mourinho understands Barcelona well. He is the ultimate boogeyman, because he knows how to use his opponents’ strengths against them. His is the perfect foil to the beautiful way Barcelona insists on playing.
Take this week as a dose of realism.
In football, often times, the better team doesn’t win. When you’re up against an antagonist, take note, and be smart.
Hansi Flick has some important takeaways, but so do Deco and Joan Laporta.
I expect Barcelona to get back on track quickly, but come Springtime they must be better prepared. That means being more flexible tactically, but also having the necessary depth of talent to navigate a demanding calendar.
Teams like Real Madrid prioritize winning above all else, no matter how it happens. Accordingly, Barcelona must not be naïve.
This season just got real. Scoring lots of goals is wonderful, but defense will always win championships.
PSG and Real Madrid are very different teams, but both taught Barcelona this harsh lesson.
Barcelona must be better defensively, and in order to do that, aside from tactics, they need the right personnel.
If nothing changes, Barcelona are rolling the dice, and that simply is unacceptable.
