Copa del Rey Semi 2nd Leg – El Clasico – Real Madrid vs Barcelona - Match Report and Analysis

Barca’s persistence and finishing paid off against a dominant but wasteful Real Madrid.

Copa del Rey Semi 2^nd Leg – El Clasico – Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona

Match Report:

The impressive Vinicius was the centre of attraction of El Clasico in the crucial 2^nd leg of the Copa del Rey semi final as both teams concentrated on him the most. While Valverde fielded both Roberto and Semedo to curb the teenage sensation, every meaningful attack of Real Madrid were directed through him.

While Real Madrid had the away goal advantage from the 1^st leg, Barcelona had to score at least once to ensure their path to a record 6^th straight cup finals. It was a cautious start as both teams aimed not to concede. Soon Madrid were on the front foot as they went on the offensive.

Casemiro, Carvajal and Vasquez kept getting away with rough challenges. There was a particularly heavy tackle by Kroos  on Messi, which the generous referee overlooked, that left the diminutive Argentine totally winded. His staying down for some time was a cause of worry for Barca.  

Benzema linked well with the midfield and flanks but failed to capitalize on the chances that fell to him. Kroos and Modric controlled the game from the middle and linked well with Vinicius.

Vinicius did not disappoint as he ran the defense of Barcelona ragged with his swift and decisive runs. The young Reguilon was equally good in attack and in providing key final passes. However both the inexperienced, young guns failed to capitalize on a host of chances that came their way. 

Amid the desperate defending of Barcelona one player stood tallest – the determined Ter Stegen who refused to give in. He was stupendous as the last man standing and kept Barca’s hopes alive.

Every time Madrid attacked, there was chaos in the Barca box as it teamed with all their defenders and midfielders. It’s a wonder how Madrid did not manage to score even one goal despite numerous chances. 

Lenglet, Semedo, Pique and Alba were kept on their toes by Vinicius, Benzema and Reguilon. Busquets was more on the defense while the solid Rakitic was the only one to link up in attacks.

While Messi was crowded out by the hefty and physical Madrid defense and midfield, it created space for the likes of Suarez and Dembele, but they were wayward and failed to impress in the first half. But it helped in the 2nd half as Suarez and Dembele came up with improved performances.

With his team’s defense and midfield kept busy by the regular attacks of Madrid, Messi went deep into his own half  to send several passes to his forwards, which were completely wasted. Despite facing a barrage of attacks, Barcelona did manage to counter from time to time, but there was no one to finish it as Messi was playing a deeper role.  

While Dembele managed to out-pace the Madrid defense, he was easily dispossessed and his indecisiveness made it even worse. He and Alba never seemed to link up properly. Luis Suarez was running in circles around the Madrid box with nothing much to show.

The way things panned out, Real Madrid looked the team that would score while Barcelona did not have a proper shot on goal at the end of the first half. It was a similar start to the 2^nd half with an aggressive Madrid looking for the decisive goal.

But then things turned around. Jordi Alba managed a good pass to Dembele who beat the Madrid defense with his speed and gave a perfect, low, cut back to Suarez. For once Luis Suarez did what he usually does best. Prowling behind Ramos till then, he got past the Madrid captain and whipped in a terrific, first time strike that zoomed past Keylor Navas to make it 1-0 for Barcelona. 

A bewildered Ramos and Kroos , who failed to track the dangerous Uruguayan, could only watch. El Pistolero of FC Barcelona was starting to fire. Thankfully Dembele grew more confident and started to link better with the rest.

More attacks followed from Madrid as they needed two goals, but they were denied by the resolute Ter Stegen and Co. Real did everything right except to score. Chance after chance were squandered and the Madrid fans could only hold their heads in disappointment. A desperate Solari brought in Bale for Vasquez.

As if to welcome the Welshman, Dembele moved to the right and latched on to the ball from Semedo. He then crossed it for Suarez who was typically lurking in the danger area. Under pressure, Varane lunged forward and ended up jabbing the ball past Navas into the net.

Much against the tempo of the game, Barcelona were up 2-0. In a couple of minutes, everything went further downhill. Saurez was again in the box and Casemiro obstructed him that resulted in a  penalty. A confident Saurez scored a Panenka to make it 3-0  to add to the woes of Real Madrid.

The match was decided, by the time Coutinho and Vidal came in for Suarez and Dembele.  Gareth Bale, towards the end, got a chance to shoot but his attempt was way off target and was booed by the annoyed Madrid fans.

Barcelona were in the finals on a 4-1 aggregate which was a deceptive result compared to what happened on the field.

Match Analysis:

For the number of chances they had, Real Madrid should have easily won the game by a wide margin. But that was not to be. Despite all the chances they created, there was no one to finish it. Madrid sorely missed a good striker. Bale is a strong player but his recent form and attitude have been worrying. Benzema did well in the midfield but his final touch was a let down.

Real Madrid’s youngsters Vinicius and Reguilon were fantastic. They were the best players for Real Madrid which does say something about their immense talents. In due course they should be able to iron out the problems with their finishing. Both these players have a bright future and could go on to be stars in their own right, for Madrid, provided they work hard.

As a Barca fan, It was very satisfying to see Casemiro (who almost always gets away with a lot of things)  hurting his own players. Ramos and  Vasquez were at the receiving end of some unintended, heavy handling from the burly Brazilian which left them grimacing. (LOL) He nailed the last nail in the Madrid coffin, by giving away the penalty.

As for FC Barcelona, they had one of their worst games of the season and were lucky to come away as winners.

Valverde selected the team with the aim to contain the dangerous flanks of Real Madrid – Vinicius and Reguilon. Though the defense did manage to keep them off to a certain extent, they were mostly overrun by the two youngsters at will. Everyone were forced to defend and that caused even more confusion. It was Ter Stegen’s heroics that rescued Barca to a large extent.

The midfield was ineffective and Messi was stuck in the middle that blunted the Barca attack. Thankfully Suarez & Dembele came good in the 2^nd half and it changed the entire game on its head.

It was an encouraging sight to see Arthur Melo return from injury,  to play for the last few minutes. He is one of the key members of this Barca team and his comeback is great news for Barcelona. It was smart of Valverde not to risk playing Arthur Melo, for a longer period, despite the immense pressure on the team.

By his lofty standards, Messi had a quiet game. But he managed to create some fantastic passes from the midfield. After the crunching tackle by Kroos, he played more cautiously as he knew that he was the obvious target of most Madrid players. After-all there is one more important Clasico coming up in a few days time.

Real Madrid need not be scared of Messi. But they should be aware (or beware!) of the Barca No.9. He was mostly running tirelessly and aimlessly in the opposition’s half. Luis Suarez may be growing old, slowing and mostly off target, but he is still a dangerous striker who can deal the killer blow, which he did. He made sure that there was constant pressure on the Madrid defense during the match. He should have ideally had his hattrick, but Varane prevented it with his own goal.  The tireless workhorse of Barcelona delivered when it mattered, taking the pressure off Messi.

Finally about the Superhero who kept his team in the game with an exceptional and courageous performance, throughout the game. Take a bow – Marc Andre Ter Stegen. It was an epic showing from the irrepressible Ter Stegen, when his team was in dire straits. He was the impregnable wall of Barcelona deflecting missile after missile and my Man of the Match.

FC Barcelona are into their 6^th consecutive Copa finals. 

No one could believe the turnaround, not even the die-hard Barcelona fans. 

It was one heck of a Clasico, where Real Madrid held all the aces but Barcelona had the last laugh.

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