Three reasons why Real Madrid will win El Clasico this weekend
Real Madrid faces arch-rivals FC Barcelona in LaLiga’s next matchday. This weekend’s Clasico will be vital for the title race. At the moment, Real Madrid is just a couple behind Barca, who again are just a point behind Atletico Madrid and they have recently dropped points against Sevilla. Given Atleti’s not so commanding recent run, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that chances are whoever wins El Clasico this weekend will go on to win the League. As such, here are three reasons why Real Madrid is more likely to win the Clasico and take a huge step forward towards a second consecutive league title.
1. Barcelona have looked weary after the international break
FC Barcelona rescued all three points in their last game in the league against Real Valladolid with a last-minute goal tucked in by Ousmane Dembele. With the win, Barcelona continued their nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions. They now have six straight victories in the league.
Indeed, their record sounds great. But, in their last game which was a resumption match after the International break, the squad looked out of ideas. They rarely had any purpose on the ball. In fact, the relegation battling side had much more clearer chances and was busier among the final third, Barca on the other hand couldn’t even get decent passes behind the Valladolid defense.
The players looked better only in the second half after Ronald Koeman worked his magic in the dressing room. These are worry signs for the Catalan side. If the likes of Kenan Kodro, Sergio Guardiola, Nacho, and Roque Mesa among others could so easily put in teasing crosses and penetrate the Barca defense, then they are at a hard task against the likes of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr, and Asensio.
Now about the second half; even though Barcelona were much better than a first half that they’d want to forget before facing the Royal Whites, they could only manage one clear chance against the stubborn defense when a shot by Dembele was saved by Valladolid keeper Jordi Masip and then headed just wide by Antoine Griezmann. The rest of the attempts at goal were all half-chances that the Catalans couldn’t convert.
They could only find a goal after Oscar Plano was harshly red-carded. Even the goal that gave Barca a crucial three points was the result of a defensive error. Bruno Gonzalez’s defensive header could have gone anywhere but it fell perfectly for Dembele who beat Masip at the near post from a close range. If this is the pace and intensity at which Barcelona is playing currently then it must be a comfortable victory for Los Blancos this weekend.