Real Madrid 2 – 3 FC Barcelona: 3 Takeaways from Real Madrid’s Devastating Loss in El Clásico

Real Madrid blew it at the Santiago Bernabéu, losing 2-3 to FC Barcelona in a match that may be devastating for Madrid’s title chances. Alex McVey gives you three thoughts from the heartbreaking loss.

The Will to Win Backfires, Massively

I’ve written several times now, here and here, about the winning mentality that Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has instilled in his side.

It looked, for 7 fateful minutes, like we were witnessing an exemplary display of that will to win (or at least not lose), when a 10-man Madrid fought back to a 2-2 draw.

That result would have been a perfectly fine one for Madrid to see out. All Real needed to do was not allow Barcelona to score in the last 30 seconds of the game, and they would have been sitting pretty at the top of the table, with a winnable game still in hand.

But it was not to be.

Instead, Zidane’s men decided to press for a third goal, something that Zizou’s post-match comments indicates was a strategic decision made by the manager himself.

Mateo Kovačić and Luka Modrić, amped up from the adrenaline of equalizing just minutes earlier, bombed up the field with Cristiano Ronaldo in an attempt to snap up a last-minute winner. This allowed Sergi Roberto to breeze past a winded Marcelo, creating a 5 on 3 Barcelona counter-attack that eventually found Lionel Messi, who silenced the Bernabéu with a winning goal of his own.

Zidane’s Madrid has the capability to kick the game up into a higher gear when they’re searching for an equalizer or a winner. Unfortunately, it’s unclear whether they have the ability to shift back down once they’re going full speed.

That inability to adjust and close out the last minutes of the match may have given Barcelona the momentum they need to snatch the title out from under Madrid’s noses. After losing El Clasico, Real Madrid now have to win all of their remaining games if they want to win their first league title since 2012.