Barcelona v Real Madrid; ; Les meringues eliminated after a morale boosting draw at the Camp nou
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Wanted: a worthy rival for a decent clásico. Ask here for details.
The galling banner mocking Madridstas might have been justified at the start of the game but after 90 minutes a worthy rival had been found. Marca had written about a rift between Mourinho and senior players and the stage seemed set for a drubbing.
Mired in controversy, the special one was booed at the Bernabeu over the weekend in the latter stages of the game against Athletic Bilbao by a large portion of the home crowd. This Clasico couldn’t come at a worse time for Madrid but sometimes the old adage holds true; the best thing to do after getting thrown off a horse is to get back on right away. Suggestions of this being a Wile E coyote v the Road Runner were rife, simply put, so close yet so far- the metaphor might have been a tad bit amusing , and yet there’s some truth to it.
After a spirited 40 minutes, Mourinho’s side fell behind to two goals from Pedro and Alves and it all looked doom and gloom from that point on. However, Barcelona took their foot off the gas and Mourinho’s side crept back into the tie. Ultimately the Bernabeu outfit was knocked out of the competition.
Starting line-ups and formations
Real Madrid started the game in a 4-4-2ish shape with Iker Casillas in goal, a back four of Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe and Coentrao. Diarra, Alonso, 
Kaka and Ozil started in midfield with Ronaldo and Higuain upfront.
Barcelona played a 4-2-3-1ish shape with Pinto in goal, a back four of Pique, Puyol, Abidal and Alves. Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi played in midfield while Messi, Fabregas and Sanchez played upfront.
Real Pressing
Real Madrid started the game in the manner we’ve gotten accustomed to seeing this season, pressing high up the pitch and causing Barcelona all sorts of problems. Twelve seconds into the game and Higuain got an early chance which he should have tucked away- except he didn’t.
Those early exchanges set the tone for the first half hour of the game- Real Madrid pressed high up, created chances and Higuain fluffed a couple. On the other hand the Blaugranas one touch game eluded them and they were finding it hard to settle into their sleek passing rhythm.
The problem with this sort of pressing is that once you keep a team as good as Barcelona on the back-foot and you don’t score, they’ll punish you and this game followed that clichéd trend to the letter- Madrid’s forwards wasted chances and Barcelona pounced in the matter of three minutes to put the tie to bed, or so we (and the players) thought.
Mourinho’s selection
Like flies to a manure truck the special one continues to court controversy left right and center but he still remains a brilliant tactician. He changed Madrid’s approach in this game by playing both Kaka and Ozil in the midfield. The Brazilian showed glimpses of the world beater Madrid purchased from AC Milan and Ozil was simply brilliant.
But if the individual contributions justified Mourinho’s selection then the change in Real’s shape went one better.
With Barcelona playing a 4-3-3 (for the most part) since Guardiola took charge, a 4-2-3-1 was the best formation to combat their attacking threat. However, Fabregas’ addition this season has added a new dimension to Barcelona’s game and as we’ve seen in recent Classicos the Blaugranas have opted for more central midfielders than usual especially in the bigger ties.
To counter this new trend, 3-midfielder formations like the 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 have proved insufficient. Instead Milan’s 4-4-2 diamond at the San Siro provided an example of what Barcelona’s opposition ought to be doing.
In this Clasico, Mourinho applied those lessons opting to play both Kaka and Ozil. With 4 central midfielders, Real could go toe to toe with Barcelona’s set-up and when Messi joined the party to create 5 v 4 in the center, Pepe would step out of defence to negate Barcelona’s man advantage. As important as the psychological aspect of this draw was, I can’t help but feel that just as important was the fact that Mourinho got his tactics spot on.
In conclusion, after last week’s display, Spain was inundated with reports of Mourinho losing his tactical touch let alone the dressing room and apparently all that has changed within a week after one valiant attempt to dethrone Barcelona. That just goes to show how fickle opinions in soccer can be.
Parenthesis;
-I’m always reluctant to put a specific tag on Barcelona’s formation because of the freedom of movement Guardiola allows his players.
-Next on theirtactics: Tactical Lessons learned from this season’s clasicos
