5 Things We Learned From Real Madrid vs. Barcelona
March 4, 2019
Barcelona finally achieved their goal to dominate Madrid.
Two consecutive league victories over their rivals at the Bernabeu saw Barcelona cement their status at the ultimate El Clasico kings.
A brilliant first-half goal from Ivan Rakitić made sure that Barça won 0-1 against Madrid.
Here are five interesting takeaways from Real Madrid’s loss to Barça.
1. Barcelona is a different team when Arthur plays
After he recovered from a hamstring injury, Arthur Melo was brought back into the starting line-up after starting Wednesday’s game on the bench.
The presence of Arthur in the team meant Barcelona were able to keep possession, distribute passes and dominate for most parts of the game.
The return of Arthur Melo to the midfield was one of the main reasons why Barcelona’s performance against Real Madrid was so much better.
2. Ramos is increasingly becoming irate
There was a distasteful point towards the end of the first half when Messi was ‘shoved’ by Sergio Ramos. Lionel Messi appeared to be caught in the face by a trailing arm from the Real Madrid captain. Both of them squared up against before eventually calm was restored.
Ramos resorted to kicking Barcelona players and aggressive tackles. He was fortunate to receive only one booking in the match.
3. Barcelona cement dominance over Madrid
For the last decade or so, Barcelona had won more matches than Madrid. This match showed that they are now supreme kings of the El Clasico. Barça became the first team to win four consecutive games at the Bernabeu in La Liga history. Real Madrid’s last league victory over Barcelona came back in April 2016 when Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo scored in a 2-1 win at the Nou Camp. Furthermore, Barcelona has also edged ahead by 96 wins to 95.
4. Gareth Bale still unconvincing
It came as a surprise to many when Bale was recalled to the starting XI by Santiago Solari, ahead of Lucas Vazquez. His performance was nothing to go by. He was totally anonymous for most of the game and wasted some good chances. Gareth Bale has still not proven his worth at Real Madrid and could depart soon.
5. Real Madrid are out the La Liga race
With 12 games left to go and 12 points behind current league leaders Barcelona, Los Blancos are all bit out of the La Liga title race.
Now, they can concentrate fully on the Champions League and hope to reclaim the trophy.
What did you notice from the game?
Also Read:
Is Barcelona Ordinary Without Lionel Messi?
Why Real Madrid Suffered a Shock Defeat to Girona
Santiago Solari Has Shown He Can Succeed at Real Madrid
This article is brought to us by our Sports Writers Club resident columnist – Collins Michael Nwokolo. Follow him on Twitter and Pinterest.
