The Barcelona whirlwind destroys Real Madrid

Barcelona completed its fantastic week by humiliating Real Madrid this Saturday in a Santiago Bernabéu that had been impregnable for 567 days, but suffered a black night. Barely 72 hours after exorcising their demons against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, the Barça team offered another football recital at the Chamartín Coliseum and confirmed the change of sign in the League, leaving their biggest adversary in a vile state.

A double from Lewandowski, a goal from Lamine Yamal, the first for the prodigious Mataró attacker in a classic, and another from Raphinha consummated the victory by a Barça whose spirit is in the stratosphere and left the series of matchdays at 42 that Real Madrid accumulated without bending the knee in the League, thus preventing Carlo Ancelotti’s team from equaling the record that the Catalans registered between April 2017 and May 2018.

The offensive gale deployed by the culé side took the whites ahead, with more muscle than ideas. With no other credible resource than the individuality of their attackers against a Barça team excellently worked by Hansi Flick and with the automatisms acquired in the same record time in which the squad that last year signed the League-Champions double double seems to have lost them, Real Madrid received a corrective as harsh as it was deserved that activated the crisis cabinet in Chamartín and triggered euphoria in Barcelona.

Real Madrid appeared with its most fibrous core, Lucas Vázquez occupying the right side and an offensive duo that has the destructive capacity of a hydrogen bomb, but that this Saturday broke down. He sent Barça with the same youth midfield that imposed its law against Bayern, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha surrounding the wings and Lewandowski commanding the vanguard.

With the cavalry arranged in this way, the party took a while to emerge in a trot. It often happens that when expectations skyrocket, reality quickly takes charge of lowering spirits. This happened this Saturday with a lackluster first half that preluded a second half in which Barça played with their pants off.

Ancelotti’s battle plan was clear: take advantage of Barça’s advanced defense to deploy the catapult and activate his sprinters. Flick’s logbook also appeared clear, as he planned to short-circuit Real Madrid’s exit, steal as high as possible and precipitate the blaugranas’ offensive whirlwind.

The brave script that characterizes the Barça coach entails an undoubted risk when digging the trench so far from the area guarded by Iñaki Peña, but his soldiers know how to keep the pyrotechnics away by handling offside with excellence. It was difficult for Real Madrid to get around the line – eight times they fell into the trap before the break, including a goal disallowed for Mbappé after a brilliant dive from the Frenchman, and twelve times in the total count of the match – and when they did, their forwards were he missed his aim. Ancelotti preferred to protect himself with a low block, which allowed Barça to charge the area in a more rhythmic manner.

Flick Review

He made his move after Flick passed through the booth, who withdrew Fermín to enlist De Jong and thus place Pedri on the hook. The German was looking for clairvoyance in the last pass for a Barça that had been gaining control as the minutes went by and soon found the light they were after. It was not Pedri who was in charge of pressing the button but Casadó, who opened the channel for Real Madrid with a pinpoint delivery that Lewandowski, enabled by Mendy, collected to shoot Lunin. The Pole did the same thing again two minutes later, this time scoring an extraordinary cross from Balde’s left with his head.

The double punishment for a once again contemplative Real Madrid was very reminiscent of the one the Whites suffered on Tuesday against Dortmund, although on this occasion it occurred against a rival of unquestionable hierarchy. Ancelotti’s reaction was to call up Modric, a countercultural figure in this Madrid with a lot of muscle and little touch. He justly sacrificed Tchouaméni, once again transparent, for this purpose. Quite the opposite of Casadó, who before leaving his position to Dani Olmo had given a cutting and sewing clinic.

Real Madrid pushed desperately, which was close to closing the gap in a one-on-one between Mbappé and Iñaki Peña, superbly resolved by the culé goalkeeper, with a failed shot by Bellingham at the exit of a set-piece action and with another Mbappé’s shot, again aborted by the goalkeeper. But it was Barça that increased, and in what way, the injury, taking advantage of the defensive confusion of the locals to sentence a classic that puts Barça in orbit and brings out the colors of Real Madrid.