The big confrontation is back.
Barcelona stopped winning the European Cups and Real Madrid started doing it all the time. Ronaldo left, then Messi left. Attitudes towards football projects have changed: they laughed at Catalans around the world and continue to do so, even if they copied their ideas and envied them. And if they don’t like the creamy ones, they respect them, like Kross and Modric, like Kurt and Benzema. But it is foolish to argue that the ancient grandeur of El Clasico has lagged behind. Premier League great added, there is a mighty “Manchester City”. Matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona have lost their appeal if only because of the quality of football and predictability. Real Madrid have had a six-match unbeaten run, mostly wins. But on March 20 this year the great saga resumed.
Spring defeat of “Real”
Barcelona fails Champions League – an opportunity for the jokers to show originality, but they have nothing to do with Sunday’s coaching duel. Coach Xavi once played against patriarch Charles, losing 0-4 away. Even though Ancelotti is not a vengeful coach, this is a blow to the Champions League winner. Real Madrid have already exploited the anger of the spring defeat in view of the victorious final against Liverpool, but now at home it is necessary to take revenge on the eternal enemy for the humiliation. Obviously the “creamy” will play exclusively to win.
Ballon d’Or and jealousy
The second reason to fall in love with El Clasico again is the birth of a new personal duel. Lewandowski joked that Benzema will receive the Ballon d’Or on Monday if the ceremony is not canceled. If Robert was someone like Ibrahimovic, then they would understand that he was just joking. But at least one Ballon d’Or was taken from Lewandowski, and maybe two, because Messi’s latest victory raised questions. Now the Frenchman who won Champions League and deserved an award. The Pole is not complaining about Karim himself, but given that the ceremony is Monday, and Sunday the first El Clasico in Lewandowski’s career, the striker can remember how to score against Real Madrid from his youth. Robert vs. Karim is a duel that draws attention to the game.
Injuries of the defenders
Kunde, Bellerin, Araujo and Christensen had the chance to start at El Clasico, despite three on the list being newcomers to the team. Now injuries have deprived Xavi of the best option, even though he is waiting for the return of a player from the list. Depay will still be missing, although it is clear that Barcelona have no attacking staff problems – Dembele and Fati can support Lewandowski, Ferran and Rafinha will insure in the event of a change of plans. But there is no full-fledged line of defense. Inter’s match at the Camp Nou showed that it is possible to score against Ter Stegen, even if Barcelona have a territorial advantage. Gosens ‘goal puts the Catalans’ playoffs into question Champions League – they are third in the group with Bayern, but they remembered the fight until the end. He proved it during the week at Rüdiger. He went to the center of the attack to save the game against Shakhtar, he collided with the goalkeeper Turbin on his head, but he equalized the score. Antonio got 20 points. And despite the tough German training in a mask and being ripped on the pitch, Ancelotti will hardly free him on base. Alaba and Eder will guard Lewandowski, in the case of David and Robert, a meeting of old acquaintances.
Antagonism of approaches
Both teams did not spare the goalkeepers last season. Courtois taught me to be impenetrable, regardless of the number of correct shots, that now any match without the same feats is registered as a responsibility for Real Madrid goalkeepers. Ter Stegen is not that tough, but he is also an experienced goalkeeper. Lucky the German, who has conceded only one goal in eight La Liga games. Phenomenal result. The Real Madrid defense is not very successful, there have been seven mistakes. Now injuries to Barcelona defenders could level the playing field, as well as Benzema’s full-fledged return from injury. But the current designs of Xavi and Ancelotti, in addition to the obvious similarities – let’s talk about favorites, still systematically differ. Real are better off on set pieces, the team is a bit measured, explosive because of the young players. Barcelona usually loves the game with the first number, try to score from the field. Ancelotti is a rational mentor and Modric and Kroos will not race as much as Pedri and Gavi. Benzema, too, with his habit of playing alongside his teammates, is different from the selfish striker Lewandowski. Ice and fire, order and chaos collide in the legendary arena in search of footballing truth about the state of Barcelona’s bloodless defense and Real Madrid’s readiness for high speeds. The acceleration of the Shakhtar was not to the liking of the favorite.
Youthful motivation
Lunin is only twenty-three, for a goalkeeper this is not an age at all, you can play football at a high level for more than ten years. For Andrei, this is the first El Clasico of his life. Tchouameni is a newcomer to Real Madrid, he has an important mission to replace Casemiro. Even the Frenchman has never been involved in such a fight. Valverde is more experienced, but the unstoppable handyman Federico, like the great forwards Vinicius and Rodrigo, are among the young masters of Ancelotti’s team. Barcelona have even more of these guys. Eric Garcia, Balde, Xavi, Pedri and Fati will create the Barcelona of the future, they are already doing it. Some on the list have tasted the blood of “kings”, now they will try not to stop with a defeat. In the spring, they were afraid of their own agility when they drew Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu 0: 4. Now they understand the value of such fights better, they can show a more mature kick, because they have worked with Xavi longer and received a tip in attack: Lewandowski.
Championship fight
On the eve of the match in which Barcelona defeated Real by four goals, Ancelotti was ahead of Xavi by 15 points. Three points in favor of the Catalans have changed nothing. And while the Blaugrana moved up from fourth to second, the Creamys maintained a solid double-digit lead. Now the points are even, both teams have drawn only once. In the first round, the Catalans did not push the ball into Rayo Vallecano’s goal and the Madrid team failed to beat Osasuna at home. Now the giants want to stop other people’s unbeaten in La Liga. It is worth mentioning that there hasn’t been a real league fight between Real Madrid and Barcelona since 2017, when the teams split three points in the standings. Then the spring defeats of Deportivo and Malaga deprived Luis Enrique’s team of the championship.
Two and a half years ago there was something similar on the eve of El Clasico. Then the victory of Real Madrid after the goals of Vinicius and Diaz predetermined the fate of the title, but the gap was five points, it was not minimal. Now Xavi has more interesting ideas than Setien, so we can’t wait for El Clasico to arrive, which can satisfy football gourmets. Let’s compare the strengths of the teams in the match, which could possibly influence the definition of the Spanish champion.
