Real have only themselves to blame for El Clasico setback
Real Madrid have rightly been lauded throughout this season for their astonishing consistency and capability of getting a result from a game that’s looked lost to them. Until now. On the biggest of stages, El Clasico, and with, realistically, only a draw needed against Barcelona to all but crown ‘Los Blancos’ as La Liga champions, mistakes were made across the board. Much of the talk pre-game had been about Gareth Bale’s fitness but Zinedine Zidane must’ve been confident enough in the Welshman to name him in his starting XI.
Even before his 35th-minute substitution, Bale looked far from the player we know he can be, and there has to be serious question marks over whether he’ll play any further part this season.
Given how well Isco had performed over the last couple of weeks, an expectation that he might replace the flying winger was quickly nipped in the bud as the French coach called upon Marco Asensio to provide some pace and width instead. No one doubts Asensio’s ability either, but when the locks needed to be prised open, surely Isco was the man for the job?
Sergio Ramos again allowed the enormity of the occasion to get the better of him and he can have no complaints at his straight red card. A suggestion to Gerard Pique as he walked off — that the Catalan’s insistent complaints about refereeing standards was behind the sending off — was mischievous at best.
Ramos out
It neatly bypasses the fact that Real’s captain will now be banned at a time when Nacho is the only other fit centre-back. Given that Los Blancos have shipped goals in all but two of their last 17 games, there are obvious defensive weaknesses that have been hidden while Real have been winning matches. Now, they are likely to be brutally exposed.
Furthermore, had Barcelona been beaten on Sunday, Zidane could’ve continued with rotation in his next two league games against Valencia and at Granada. Now he is forced to play as strong a side as possible in matches that are right before either leg of the Champions League semi-finals, because they’ve now become must-win.
The final, and most fatal mistake of the night came at the death. With no danger whatsoever to the hosts, and with only 40 seconds left on the clock, Real only needed to keep the ball out of Barcelona’s clutches. A draw was enough for everyone in white to go home happy. And yet, Real felt the need to attack again in the 92nd minute and Zidane did nothing to stop them. Barcelona regained possession and in an instant, Lionel Messi — who else — delivered the blow.
What that result means is that though Real still remain slight favourites for the title because of their game in hand, the pressure is now right back on them.
And it’s all their own fault.