Real Madrid put in a mixed performance in a game that they were favorites to win. In the end, Real Madrid continued their dominance over arch-rivals FC Barcelona who came all out against Carlo Ancelotti’s men, forcing the game to go into extra-time. Fede Valverde continued his love affair with El Clasicos as his extra-time strike guaranteed Los Blancos a ticket to the season’s first final, to be played on the weekend. Here is my assessment of the positives and negatives from the clash for the men in white.
1. Marco Asensio continues struggling for consistency
Jumping on to the negatives first, this may not be as simple as the title suggests. We have known for some time now that Marco Asensio’s biggest problem is his consistency. After dropping a clutch shift against Alcoyano and then dropping his most complete performance of the season against Valencia, there were hopes for the Spaniard to come up with some magic in a clash where he has scored some ‘golazos‘ for the archives in the past.
It didn’t go as well this time. Asensio looked like he was back to being his lethargic self. This is a major problem because there are two major decisions related to Asensio. First, his contract extension, and second the pecking order at right-wing. Rodrygo Goes replaced the Spaniard around the 70th-minute mark in the second half and was definitely a major upgrade on him. However, his last-second miss in front of an open goal again raised a few eyebrows including that of the Italian coach.
Finding the perfect right-wing partner to complement Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior remains a major issue for Real Madrid. With Asensio probably on his way out of the club next summer and Rodrygo Goes still searching for his breakthrough, Real Madrid might have to move to the market for this specific position. They are making headway to sign Kylian Mbappe who could be a lucrative yet practical solution.
But, for this season at least, having Asensio continue his form would have been the best solution with Rodrygo coming on in the second half to inject some more energy. But as it is, the Spaniard might have undone all the good work he did to gain Ancelotti’s trust and I think we are on our way towards seeing more experimentation on the right from the Italian coach in the coming games.
2. Eder Militao struggles to adjust without David Alaba
It was a heart in mouth moment for Mardridistas to see David Alaba not included in Ancelotti’s starting XI for the match. If that wasn’t bad enough the immediate realisation that the Austrian wasn’t even on the bench made that feeling even worse. We later learned that a last-minute muscular problem kept the Austrian sidelined for this game and possibly the weekend’s final, although he’s not completely ruled out.
It was evident that Real Madrid’s defense was affected without Alaba. Although his replacement, Nacho Fernandez dropped a reliable shift, his partner in central defense, Eder Militao seemed way off his game. He was losing aerial duels against Luuk de Jong and was partly at fault for Barcelona’s first goal. And, he reacted way too late with Ansu Fati’s equalizer in the second half. This was an uncharacteristically poor outing for the Brazilian who recovered well after his loss of concentration against Getafe at the beginning of the year.
Although Alaba lets Militao be the star defender too often when these two are playing together, I think Alaba’s influence, leadership, etc. play a huge part in how the Brazilian performs. Alaba makes Militao a better defender and yesterday, we saw Real Madrid’s defense switching off completely at times.
This is a major issue before we head to the round of 16 of the Champions League. PSG especially isn’t the sort of opponent who would leave Madrid unpunished for their mistakes. If there are at all any injury concerns that show up and Madrid is anywhere below their full-strength XI, we could suffer. Carlo Ancelotti needs to let all these rotational pieces of the squad develop understanding within themselves. As we head to the business end of the season, it’d be hard to predict absentees and resulting changes in partnerships.
1. The lethal Karim Benzema-Vinicius Junior duo shines again
A big positive for me in this match was yet again Madrid’s attacking duo of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior. Arguably, they have been the best duo in Europe this season. I talked about the situation on the right-wing. But, if we take that out, Real Madrid probably has the best possible options for the remaining two in the trident. This game again was a reminder of how good these two are and how they can win big games for Real Madrid.
The first goal was picture perfect from Benzema, starting from the tackle to win the ball in midfield to laying it out for Vini to finish it perfectly with a venomous strike. Benzema especially, I think was brilliant in this game. His composure to score the second goal was brilliant after having forced a sharp save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen. He had also hit the bar earlier in the game. I think this was a near-perfect game for the big Frenchman who hardly set a wrong foot throughout the 120 minutes.
Vinicius, on the other hand, did brilliantly to score the opener and produced one of the finest and most mesmerizing moments of the extra time when he ‘dummied’ the cross from Rodrygo. Guess why? Because Benzema was lurking right behind. Although the goal was ultimately scored by Fede Valverde, the move was a reminder that Benzema and Vini share an incredible level of chemistry and telepathy.
It would be vital for these two to continue in the same way. Vini had to be taken off towards the end of the match for what I suspect is just a cramp. I hope it is not too serious for the 21-year-old. He is a key player for the remainder of the season and Real Madrid needs both its main men in attack to continue in the same way. They are capable of winning games and they probably are the most important assets for Real Madrid as we step into the business end of the season.
2. Real Madrid’s big-game consistency remains intact
The biggest positive to me was the reassurance that this game provided. It was not the easiest fixture for Real Madrid, with the first-choice XI being compromised by David Alaba’s last-minute issue and the threat down the right flank nearly non-existent to start with. Yes, Barcelona did play well but in the end, the men in white came out on top. And, that just goes to prove how Real Madrid manages to get the job done in these telling games.
There were a few key performers outside the two exuberant protagonists of the win that I talked about in the previous slide. Ferland Mendy, came out on top as Los Blancos’ best defender. A clutch shift from Casemiro in the middle of the park was yet again vital for Los Blancos. Luka Modric’s smart movement always opened up a passing outlet to evade the press. Toni Kroos was immense defensively if not offensively. And, last but not the least, Real Madrid’s super-subs Rodrygo Goes and Fede Valverde combined to win it for Real Madrid.
They led twice but they lost both their leads in regulation time. Even then, the men in white didn’t let that get into their heads and rather focused on getting the win alone. The elite Real Madrid mentality is intact, something that I thought was lacking against Chelsea in the semifinal of last season’s Champions League. This game, therefore, was very, very reassuring for me as a fan.
The road ahead isn’t easy, to say the least. There is PSG waiting to host Real in Paris and a tricky Elche side awaits Real in the Round-of-16 of the Copa del Rey. They could also face a strong opposition in the last eight – should they go through. These knockouts are always tricky and to have seen the team suffer and rescue a win in extra time against their arch-rivals, nonetheless, is the best appetizer I could have asked for before the season-defining games start showing up.