Real Madrid took the win over Barcelona once again. Although, Barcelona actually played better than usual, in the sense that they pressed a lot better and forced Real Madrid players, at least at the start, into a lot of giveaways. The team also faced problems in stringing a bunch of passes together to hurt Barcelona. There was just so much space left behind them, it was odd to see it not being exploited. Anyway, apart from that weird phase, Real Madrid got the job done, and they did it while playing in a style they really haven’t gone with this season
They rarely pressed Barcelona, stayed back and made Barcelona suffer through the pace on the wings, which is essentially what won them the game. Neither of the wingers was on the scoresheet, but they were so crucial in making sure things went their team’s way. Alaba and Vazzquez made sure that Real Madrid win the game relatively comfortably, and despite all the improvement, Barcelona only threatened the goal once or twice.
So, that being said, what are my takeaways from this game?
Rodrygo’s defensive coverage was more important than his contribution in offense
Rodrygo had a decent game, but it was a lot more about his defense than it was about his offense. You could say he was one of the biggest reasons why Barcelona’s left side was ineffective. As has been said before, Lucas Vazquez was great on both ends of the pitch, but he would’ve faced a lot more difficulty if it wasn’t for Rodrygo tracking back literally every other sequence to cover for Jordi Alba’s overloads. Previous Clasicos have shown us how dangerous Alba is in the attacking third, whenever he’s linking up with Messi in the final third and being set free sequence after sequence.
Messi wasn’t there, but there was still a lot of danger that could’ve come out of the left side, which is what Rodrygo neutralised as well as he could’ve. Of course, there were a couple of times when Alba actually broke free, which was followed by David Alaba’s crucial block, but the rest was managed very well by Rodrygo.
He had two tackles, one block, one interception, nine presses, and covered a lot of ground. Offensively, like I said, he didn’t do much (apart from the great assist, of course), but he didn’t need to do a lot, either.
Alaba proves yet again that he is worthy of his kit number at Real Madrid
Around the 24th minute, David Alaba nicked the ball off of Memphis Depay’s feet, and gave it to Vinicius Jr. Vinicius did really well and got past Mingueza with ease, then he played a switch to Rodrygo, who played it to Alaba. The Austrian ran about 90 yards in the process and after receiving the ball, he took an excellent shot and scored his first Real Madrid goal, against Real Madrid’s eternal rivals. Is there a better way to make your mark in your first Clasico? I doubt it. That’s not all he did, either. He made a fantastic block (which proved to be game-saving) on Fati’s shot when the youngster took a shot from near the six yard box in the first half.
Overall, Alaba had a brilliant game. It was a near-perfect performance. It would’ve been perfect had he not slipped, quite literally, a couple of times during the game, most noticeably just before Barcelona’s goal, due to which Aguero was set free. But, yes, Alaba showed that he’s a great defender, contrary to popular belief. His passing through the press was exceptional. It was because of him and Toni Kroos that Real Madrid got out of Barcelona’s presses.
Oh yeah, that reminds me, I am so excited to see how Toni Kroos (who also had a fantastic game) and David Alaba work together in future games, because in the two games they’ve played together, (I am not counting the Espanyol game) it’s been so blissful. They know each other’s game from their days at Bayern, and it’ll be great to see them develop the partnership even more in the coming months.
Alaba completed 45 out of his 50 passes, scored a goal, had one block, one tackle, three interceptions, two clearances, and one amazing performance in the famous white of Real Madrid.
Alaba had his doubters, I won’t lie. Even I was one of those that thought he won’t be able to hold his own defensively in a few games, but I will happily admit that I’m being proven wrong literally every single game. Alaba has been one of Real Madrid’s best players this season, and the way he’s fit in like a glove shows how good he is, and how much of a perfect signing he is for Real Madrid.
Vinicius Jr loves the big stage more than anything else
There’s something about Vinicius Jr that just strikes out. There aren’t many players in the league that have this kind of ‘aura’, where they want nothing more than to show everyone that they’re made for the big stage. There’s almost no one that can stop him when he’s truly in his element, and that was the case against Barcelona. He wanted Barcelona’s defense to know what kind of terror they’re going to face for years to come, and a few things that he did on the pitch made everyone realise that he is a Madridista through and through.
Vinicius Jr, had six completed dribbles, was fouled six times, had four shot-creating actions, one goal-creating action, one key pass, one tackle, one interception, and ZERO shots. He made himself known to the Barcelona defense without even registering a single shot. That speaks volumes of the impact that Vinicius Jr can have even without being directly involved in goals. He has shown improved in his finishing and his decision making this season, but he doesn’t need to be the one doing the finishing to have a good impact on the game.
One more thing I’d like to point out is how much he has improved in general! If you remember the last two seasons, there were times when he dug a hole for himself while dribbling when he absolutely shouldn’t. There were also sequences where he lost the ball simply because he passed it to the wrong person, or he took a shot instead of playing it to someone with a better angle. All that has changed for the better this season, and it is so good to see.
Vinicius Jr from last season would’ve probably passed the ball to David Alaba instead of Rodrygo during the build-up to the first goal, and it probably wouldn’t have resulted in a goal. But, he knew that a pass to Rodrygo would be a better decision, and he did it. There were so many sequences that made me realise this, and it’s so fun to see it. He’s slowly blossoming into the player he has the talent of becoming, and he’s not quite there yet, but he will be soon. Soon, he’d be referred to as one of the best players in the world. We don’t have to wait for much longer.