BarcelonaThe communion between Real Madrid and the European Cup is almost ineffable. The great milestones of the whites, such as Stamford Bridge, can be explained by the weight of the shield, a mystical aura that surrounds the team when the Champions League anthem sounds and makes players Immaculate reliability, like goalkeepers Gianluigi Donnarumma or Edouard Mendy, crack at key moments. Madrid, in Europe, always finds a gap to beat, regardless of the level of staging of their football. In London he achieved this thanks to a stellar Karim Benzema, author of all three goals in the first leg of the quarter-finals. This Tuesday (9 pm, M. Champions League), the set blue he will try to stop the whites with a slap in the face and turn the score (1-3) upside down.
The game is also of interest from Barça’s point of view. Not only to speculate with a defeat of the eternal rival, but also because it will be played by César Azpilicueta, who has just beaten the coronavirus, and Andreas Christensen. In the first leg they were unable to stop the French striker, the best player on the continent this season. But it will certainly not be the last time the two defenders will face Real Madrid: they have an agreement with Barça from next season, which in the case of the Navarrese is pending negotiations with the new owner of Chelsea. In terms of football, both Azpi and Christensen fit Xavi Hernández’s idea of the game.
Madrid overtook the reigning European champions. Two geniuses from Benzema turned one of the most reliable defenses in the Premier League into an invertebrate element. The extra-sporting instability of Chelsea, which is still in the final stages of the club’s purchase process, has had an impact on the pitch. Before receiving the whites, they had conceded four goals against Brentford. Following the defeat of Carlo Ancelotti, the Londoners have licked their wounds this weekend by beating Southampton (0-6) at home.
Azpilicueta: versatility and talent
In the duel against Madrid, Thomas Tuchel made changes and placed Azpilicueta on the left side, a position he knows well, but which is not usual. Christensen was the replacement. The German coach changed the system and the Dane was left out. Chelsea went on to defend four and Tuchel preferred to keep Thiago Silva and Antonio Rüdiger on the field, who also ends his contract this summer.
Azpilicueta could not prove against Madrid that he is one of the best defensive talents of the last decade in the Premier League. Next summer will mark the tenth anniversary of the defender’s arrival at Stamford Bridge. Dave, as he is called in England for the complexity of pronouncing their last name, has been a major player with all the coaches who have passed through Chelsea since then. There have been eight, and with very different styles of play: from the defensive look of Roberto Di Matteo to the position play of Maurizio Sarri, through José Mourinho or Antonio Conte. In addition, he has played in different positions on the defensive pitch. In 2014, Chelsea signed Filipe Luís, from Atlético de Madrid, to be the starting left-back. A year later, the Brazilian took the flight back to Spain. Azpilicueta had taken his place in a position that was not even his.
The last two seasons have alternated between the central position and the lane position, always in the right sector. As a center, Azpi tends to move to the side. The defender with the most inclination to join the attack is Rüdiger, while the Navarrese stands out for selecting when to advance meters. In a defense with three men, Azpilicueta occupies the same spaces that Xavi asks for for his right winger at Barça, located in inside positions. Both from there and from the side, he uses one of his best weapons: the center. Thanks to this, he is one of the 10 most assisted defenders in the history of the Premier League.
Tuchel has empowered Christensen
“Christensen’s rise as the European Central Team’s starting line-up has been thanks to Tuchel,” said Ander Iturralde, the podcast’s journalist. improper alignment, specializing in the Premier League. Sharing dressing room and minutes with the experienced Thiago Silva has allowed him to grow during the last two years. The Dane has a good ball handling, feels comfortable playing under the pressure of the opponent and is also daring when it comes to driving. “He has a neater and more accurate reading than Rüdiger’s and is also more effective at defending the area,” Iturralde says. In actions where Christensen feels less comfortable is in melee with forwards. He is a calculator and corrector, he prefers to avoid the shock.
Rüdiger, on the other hand, is a much more aggressive center in the court, but also more tactically disordered. The German center-back also ends his contract this summer, despite high economic demands that have meant that teams such as Real Madrid have, for the time being, left the race to sign him. Its representatives have also met with Barça, but the Barça club now consider it a remote option and explain that it was only a business meeting to try the market, like so many others.
All indications are that from this summer onwards, the reigning European champions will change their defense almost completely. In principle, Christensen and Azpilicueta will arrive at the Camp Nou. With the Dane, Xavi will add a central player who interprets the game well and has a good footing. On the other hand, with the Navarrese, Barça will have a very versatile footballer, with the ability to join the attack and defend any type of striker. Both are at a very good time in their careers, the question is whether they can extrapolate the level they have shown in a defense blue with three central defenders, in which they are protected and have more freedom in attack, in the structure of Xavi’s Barça. His gray role against Madrid does not dismantle the reasons of the egarenc to claim them for his project.
