Reports of Liga champion Barcelona’s demise appear to have been greatly exaggerated after Saturday night’s Gran Clasico, won 3-1 by the Catalans, a come-from-behind victory over Real Madrid that has now lifted Pep Guardiola’s men back to the top of the Primera Division standings, albeit having played a game more than their arch rivals.
At the full-time whistle, there were high fives all round among the visiting players, in stark contrast to their hosts, who looked dazed and confused, as if trying to work out where it all went wrong.
This was supposed to be Madrid’s derby to win, with Jose Mourinho’s side oozing confidence on the back of a remarkable run of 10 straight league wins in a row, and 15 in all competitions. Victory would give it an enormous six-point cushion over the Catalans at the top of the standings, and with a game in hand to boot. A win at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, the experts and pundits confidently predicted, and a first title since 2008 would be Madrid's for the taking.
And when the in-form Karim Benzema netted straight from the kick-off, the fastest-ever goal in 216 previous meetings between these grand old foes after just 22 seconds following a horrible mistake from Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, the momentum was well and truly with Mourinho and Co. All the more apparent considering the fact that the home team had not dropped
| MATCH FACTS Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona |
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Shots On Target Possession Corners Bookings |
R. Madrid 17 5 39% 3 3 |
Barca 12 7 61% 5 4 |
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Madrid was all over Barca like a rash, at times virtually playing with five men in attack when its opponent had the ball, smothering it high up the field and then when winning the ball back at pace, launching quick-fire counterattacks, or automatismos, as they are known in Spain.
Meanwhile Guardiola’s side looked a pale shadow of the team that had won the league and Champions League double last season, constantly misplacing paces, while hesitant in both defense and midfield. That is, until another one of those individual moments of brilliance from Lionel Messi helped draw his side level courtesy of Alexis Sanchez’s fourth goal in his last three appearances.
And that strike on the half hour-mark appeared to act as a shot of adrenaline and confidence to the visitors, transforming them almost instantaneously back to the beautiful Barca of old. Now it was the Catalans winning all the 50-50 balls, while their passing became more crisp and accurate as a result. Madrid, like a heavyweight boxer having just suffered a glancing blow to the chin, needed to take a time out in the form of the interval.
However, in the space of 60 seconds just past the hour mark and with Barca now leading 2-1, this fiercely intense contest was all but decided in a moment that both coaches may look back on come the end of the season as not only the turning point in the outcome of this match, but possibly also the title race.
We had been told in the build-up to this contest that Madrid was now the kings of the counterattack, that it was at its most dangerous when the opposition had the ball, but it took Barcelona all of one minute to break up-field following Cristiano Ronaldo’s glaring headed miss and work play out wide to the marauding Dani Alves, now stationed as a right winger. His inch-perfect center was headed home by Cesc Fabregas at the far post and that, as they say, was game, set and match to Barca.
This may have been just Barcelona’s third league win on the road this season, but as it flies out to Japan in the early hours of Sunday morning to contest the Club World Cup, it will be comforted by the knowledge that in the past seven years, the team that has won the opening Clasico of the season has always gone on to claim the title.
Perhaps Barcelona should try being the underdog more often, then.
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