Post-Match Analysis: Real Madrid outclass Barcelona at the Camp Nou

Real Madrid won the first Clasico of the 20/21 season in convincing fashion. Below we discuss the key to the game, what could have gone differently for Barcelona, and the performances of two key players.

Having won the first Clasico of the season on Saturday, Real Madrid find themselves within a point from league leaders Real Soceidad, with a game in hand. Barcelona meanwhile sit in 12th place with only 7 points through five games. Fair or unfair, the pressure is mounting on Koeman to turn the blaugranas’ fortunes around, having willingly walked into a burning building and accepted the responsibility of putting out the fire.

While the Dutchman’s emphasis on higher tempo play and trust in the team’s young talent are, and have been, welcome, there are still question marks surrounding this team. On Saturday - Real Madrid showed us why.

OVERVIEW OF GAME-PLANS

With both Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé slow off the mark to start the season, Koeman turned to 17-year old Spanish wonder-kid ‘Pedri’ [Pedro González López] . The Dutchman also altered the way in which he deployed Messi, Coutinho, and Ansu Fati. Fati, customarily playing off the left, was used as a striker. Coutinho, who had been used as a traditional number 10, acted as a wide-midfielder on the left flank. Finally Messi, having played further forward to start the season, roamed the central channels in behind Ansu Fati.

Pedri and Coutinho aren’t traditional wingers, and naturally drifted centrally throughout the contest. Drifting inwards allowed each player to come onto to his preferred foot. Meanwhile the responsibility of providing the team’s width fell on their full-backs. Behind that sat Sergio Busquets & Frenkie de Jong in Koeman’s customary double pivot, while Pique and Lenglet sat further back providing support and protection.

On the other side of the pitch Real Madrid lined-up in a traditional 4-3-3 shape. Benzema was flanked by Vinicius Jr. and Asensio in attack. Behind them sat a midfield trio of Toni Kroos, Fede Valverde and Casemiro. In defense Nacho deputized for the injured Dani Carvajal at right-back. Ramos, Varane and Mendy rounded out the back four for the reigning Spanish champions.

In the end Zidane’s men were deserving winners who thoroughly outclassed their arch rivals on the night.

KEY TO THE GAME

The key to the game was Real Madrid’s ability to exploit wide areas to their advantage. With Messi sitting deeper, and the Catalans playing in a double pivot, Pedri & Coutinho were instructed to move centrally from the far side to support the team in pressing the opponent.

However, Zidane’s men were able to consistently beat Barcelona’s initial press by finding an unmarked man in wide areas in buildup situations. Benzema, likewise, punished Barcelona by dropping into the areas between their full-backs and center-backs, constantly giving Madrid a progressive passing option.

We see this from the opening minutes of the game as Ramos finds Nacho in space on the right-flank. The Spaniard has time and space on the ball as Barcelona scramble back after the initial press is beaten. Meanwhile, Benzema drifts into the space in behind Jordi Alba who pushes forward to close down his compatriot. Nacho finds Benzema who turns and plays the onrushing Valverde through on goal to open the scoring.

The Spanish champions consistently exploited the spaces down the flanks to progress the ball forward. We see this in the graphic above. The vast majority of the visitors’ progressive passes were initiated & received in wide area and in the half-spaces. The capital side was consistently able to switch play to a free man on the flanks in the build-up, and from there find players in between Barcelona’s lines further upfield. As a consequence, the Catalans were often scrambling back in transition, trying to stop their foes from picking apart their collapsing defense.

We see more evidence of this here. Many of Barcelona’s defensive actions took place in their defensive third, further illustrating how ineffective their pressing was on the night. The alarmingly high number of actions in their own box demonstrates how often the side was chasing their opponents around, unable to contain them.

In the simplest of terms: Real Madrid won the Clasico because they were able to consistently exploit the flanks to create high-value possessions. The graphic below illustrates this rather perfectly. Indeed most of the visitors’ high possession-value passes were initiated and received in wide areas.

WHAT COULD HAVE GONE DIFFERENTLY?

Barcelona did look to be in control of proceedings for much of the first half. Their game-plan was heavily focused on building attacks down the left-side of the pitch. Messi regularly drifted to the left to link up with Frenkie de Jong and Coutinho. The focus seemed to be on feeding runs by Jordi Alba and Ansu Fati in behind Real Madrid’s last line of defense.

Within two minutes of Real Madrid opening the scoring, Barcelona equalized. Messi drifts deep into midfield on the left-side of the pitch and plays Alba through in behind Madrid’s last line of defense. The Spaniard squares the ball to Ansu Fati who levels the scoring with an ice cool finish.

For much of the first half, the Catalans were able to recycle possession and attack their rivals down the left flank. Coutinho consistently received the ball in the half-space with Alba and Messi available as options in support.

Coming inside, Coutinho would often drag Nacho with him, freeing up the left flank for Jordi Alba. Naturally, the ball was played wide to Alba often. However, the Spaniard was unable to consistently create goal-scoring opportunities as he had done earlier in the game. Indeed, as his pass map below illustrates, Alba’s assist to Fati was his only successful pass inside the opposition’s box all game.

The situation was exacerbated by the game slowing down early in the second half, as Zidane’s men sat deeper. Barcelona were running out of ideas, and largely did not trouble Madrid defensively. Madrid were growing back into the match. A minute past the hour mark, Clement Lenglet concedes a penalty that Ramos coolly dispatches. Barcelona never recover, and the Spanish champions win [1-3] at full-time.

In the end Barcelona’s downfall was their inability to consistently threaten Real Madrid despite getting into good positions down the left side of the pitch. Beyond a few instances, Barcelona’s incisiveness was severely lacking despite controlling large segments of the encounter.

KEY PERFORMER 1: Toni Kroos

No single player was more responsible for Real Madrid’s ability to switch play, and find free-men in spaces down the flanks and in the half-spaces than midfield maestro Toni Kroos. The German’s passing range was on full display on Saturday, and he was constantly switching play from flank to flank, moving the Barcelona players around, and finding his teammates in space down the wings.

Just look at this beautiful diagonal ball to Mendy in the build-up.

KEY PERFORMER 2: Karim Benzema

Benzema was a nuisance all game long. The Frenchman constantly drifted wide into the half-spaces and the gaps between the Catalans’ full-backs and center-backs to offer himself as a progressive passing option.

You saw him do it above for Madrid’s opening goal. You see him doing it here, dropping in between Barcelona’s lines to receive the ball in the left half-space. Look at the graphic below, and you’ll see that he was doing it all game long.

Menace.