The first leg of this season's league El Clasico has come and gone, but not without ruffling few feathers, while i can hear a shout of pride and victory from the Camp Nou, there is an unusual silence that have befallen the once great city of Madrid. With the two best players or if you like "rivals," out of sight for the match after almost a decade of their Clasico presence, we were gonna sit and enjoy a game without caring whether Messi outsmarted Ronaldo in the pitch, or whether Ronaldo really proved he is better than Messi.
Both teams have always presented the soccer world with a mouthwatering clash that adds so much fun to the game, but without Messi and Ronaldo, such flavour seems to have hit a low. Sunday's clash however came with its own uniqueness and lessons, putting the two eternal rivals in a pitch without their talismen. Messi was shown covered in a hood with his little son in his arms, as he watched his teammates make him proud. The Legend and caring father of three had picked up an arm injury, and many thought his absence will boost the confidence of Madrid ahead their Clasico clash. However, Barcelona saw it as an opportunity to give hope to the future of the club, by beating Madrid comfortably.
The match saw the Blaugrana coming down heavy on a Ronaldo-less Madrid, as they took advantage of Real's troubling moment to slaughter the European Champions in a game that saw six goals with Barca winning 5-1. The result left so much anguish on the faces of Madrid players, as the loss ensured that Madrid hit three times consecutive defeat in the league since 2009. It's really shocking how the mighty has fallen.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Gap Between Barca & Madrid Continues To Widen.
Taking a statistical look at both Barcelona and Real Madrid after the Clasico unveils how far Barca is ahead of their arch rivals. Both teams have played Ten Matches in the Spanish league. The Blaugrana have won six, Drawn three and have lost one match so far with twenty-one points to keep them top of the league Table. After firing 174 shots, hitting 80 on target and finding the woodwork 10 times, Barcelona have been able to score Twenty-eight goals so far with three of it being penalties.
On the other end is a team that was once beaming with stars not too long ago. A team that is still going through the traumatic experience of losing both their best player to Juventus and their Charismatic coach, who decided to resign while the ovation was still high. This sudden departure have indeed left a vacuum that no one has been able to till so far, and it's showing out in Real Madrid's results.
So far this season Madrid have appeared to be a total shadow of themselves. In my last post, after Madrid won Viktoria Plzen, I expressed my dissatisfaction in their performance, and I didn't mince words in pointing out that if they don't put their team in order before the El Clasico clash, that they will pay for it. Plzen had so many chances to nail Madrid in that game, but due to their lack of clinical finishing, Madrid were able to escape with their organs complete.
The season have seen Madrid play ten matches in the League already, winning four of their encounters, drawing two and losing four in the process. The European Champions is ignominiously sitting at the 9th place on the league table with just fourteen (14) points to show for their adventure. The Team have also managed to fire 179 shots, hitting just 61 on target, allowing the woodwork to take 7 while they scramble in only 14 goals. Three of those 14 goal came from penalties.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lopetegui Could Be On His Way Out.
It didn't take much long for Barca to draw the first blood on Sunday clash, as a Jordi Alba's ground cross found it's way to the venomous left foot of Philipe Coutinho, who took it with so much deft to put Barcelona on the Lead. The Uruguayan forward, Lius Suarez took the centre stage in the absence of Lionel Messi, as his hat-trick and Vidal's header became too heavy for Madrid to shoulder. It was really damn heavy that Marcelo's beautiful finish earlier in the game didn't get the relevance it should have gotten.
The defeat ensured that the Madrid's coach face saw no joy all through the game. Julen Lopetegui will sure be wondering what he did wrong to deserve his current fate at the club, but maybe in his next world, he would avoid stepping into a great man's shoes. Though his win over their champions league visitors may have bought him time to revisit his drawing board to mend the crack in the team, Barcelona returned to reignite his grief by putting the coach at the risk of being sacked by the Madrid management.
The last time Julen Lopetegui salvaged a point in the league was when they faced Athletico club in a game that ended in a draw, after getting a victory against Espanyol on September 22. The European champions have now moved on to lose three league games at a stretch, now that's unprecedented. Though such a losing streak maybe associated with some other teams, it is an unwanted record for the club. Sometimes, I just feel pity for the coach, with his job at stake and criticism pouring from all quarters, I wonder how he sleeps. Uneasy lies that head that wears the crown.
Comments