Losing at home to Manchester City in the Champions League, after leading 1-0, will have been damaging for Real Madrid. It’s going to be difficult for Madrid to overcome the deficit in the second leg and, in the meantime, it will affect them in their preparation for this weekend’s Clasico against Barcelona.
Zidane’s mistake
Zinedine Zidane made a mistake by replacing Vinicius Junior when Madrid were still winning because the Brazilian was taking the game to City and relieving the pressure on Madrid’s defence.
He was playing well, and the team went backwards after he was withdrawn, allowing the Citizens to push forward and score two goals that could be decisive in the tie.
For that reason, and despite Barcelona not being at their best, I believe the Catalans come into Sunday’s game in better shape and more relaxed. Madrid are probably psychologically hurt after their midweek loss.
Real Madrid need to be more clinical
You can have a good possession that is appreciated by everyone, but if you don’t score goals you can’t win matches. This has been one of Madrid’s issues in the last few seasons – since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure – and with Karim Benzema losing his momentum from the start of season, the team seems to miss a real lethal goal scorer.
Barcelona can still count on Lionel Messi to solve their problems regularly and in this kind of match that could be pivotal. So in this department Barcelona have a significant edge.
Clasico is important moment but not decisive
Barcelona will go to the Santiago Bernabeu with a two point lead over Real Madrid in La Liga. But the match won’t be decisive in the title race, as we have seen both teams lose points to smaller clubs. It would, though, give Barca a nice cushion and the satisfaction of leaving their old enemy’s season in tatters.
But are yet to improve under new boss Quique Setien and the team haven’t truly found their best form this season. They have great players but they need to be much better in possession. They also need to shoot more from outside the box to surprise their opponents.
They are playing with a new system which makes them even more dependent on Messi, as he is responsible for making difference with his dribbling, shooting from outside the area and combining with teammates.
But as we saw against Napoli in the Champions League this week, Messi is targeted by opponents and if he doesn’t show up the team immediately feels it. That said, I believe Barca earned an important equaliser at Napoli and taking a 1-1 back to Camp Nou should be enough to help them seal qualification in the second leg.
Bad planning leaves Barca short
Barca have injuries and suspensions to contend with for their second leg against Napoli. This comes from the club’s bad planning after some players left in January and almost no reinforcements arrived.
Arturo Vidal was sent off at Napoli but a player of his experience should have controlled himself and remembered that referees are less tolerant in the Champions League than in La Liga.
In the meantime, Pique’s possible absence in El Clasico could be a huge blow to Barca. He is a leader on the pitch and responsible for organizing the defence. I believe he will recover in time as he is a fighter always ready to give everything for the club.
Luís Suárez will be missed by Barca but they should start using his new signing Martin Braithwhaite more often. You can’t sign a 28-year-old forward for 18 million euros to simply stay on the bench and play a few minutes. It’s up to the manager to start using him more regularly.
Source: Betfair Spanish La Liga
