El Clasico Disaster in Madrid: What A Difference A Year Makes
We took some gambles defensively, and they took advantage of that… – Carlo Ancelotti
Barcelona’s four-game losing streak to their bitter rivals Real Madrid ended this past weekend, and it wasn’t even close!
Since April 5, 2023, Los Blancos had become accustomed to defeating their Spanish foes, Barca. With 0-4, 1-2, 4-1, and 3-2 wins in the La Liga games, Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España clashing up until April 21, 2024, Carlo Ancelotti and his men were becoming big brothers in El Classico meetings. Still, everything changed at the Santiago Bernabeu this past Saturday.
Pointing the Finger at Mbappe
Does Kylian Mbappe understand the offside rule?
I’ve had to explain this complicated rule to many of my American friends, but the Frenchman is a lifelong professional. Yet the linesman flagged him for six of Real Madrid’s seven first-half offside calls!
Some say Kylian Mbappé is still offside 😬 pic.twitter.com/Yc30VpPjzd
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 27, 2024
However, despite what soccer rumors might suggest, this isn’t a one-man team, and pointing the finger at Mbappe only is in poor taste.
Los Blancos should’ve taken the lead in the first 45 minutes. Still, offensive reliability fell to Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, who both stumbled at delivering their usual on-pitch heroics, and those seven offsides, mainly thanks to Mbappe, were just the beginning of a catastrophic downfall that would arrive in the second half.
Hansi Flick, the mastermind behind Barca’s high backline, guided his men to a second half of Blaugrana superiority and one worthy of the Hollywood big screen.
🚨 Hansi Flick, La Liga Coach of the Month for October! pic.twitter.com/Mln2TJoxsf
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 28, 2024
Ninety minutes was up, and Real Madrid, on home turf, might I add, had conceded four goals in 35 minutes to leave empty-handed with a 0-4 defeat.
Did we just witness a change in La Liga’s dominance?
Galacticos 2.0 Crumble to an Up-And-Coming Barca Unit
Mbappe looked drained, Vinicius and Bellingham lacked confidence, and Ancelotti had no choice but to make excuses:
“They scored two very quick goals, which took the energy out of us. We took some gambles defensively, and they took advantage of that,” the Madrid boss commented.
The reality, however, which I wouldn’t expect him to admit in soccer news, is that Barcelona was the much better team on the day.
And look, this Madrid squad has many more players contending for the Ballon d’Or that will be announced at 1:00 pm CST. Still, I don’t believe any serious football is surprised at Saturday’s result, especially those who understand the history between these sides.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are the kings of Spain. Yes, the former has more success in terms of winning trophies, but across the 251 times these clubs have met, Los Blancos has won 102, and Barca has 98 wins, with 51 draws.
🚨 BREAKING: Vinicius Jr will NOT travel to Paris as Real Madrid know he will NOT win the Ballon d’Or.
No one from Real Madrid will attend the ceremony. No Florentino Pérez, no Vini Jr, no Carlo Ancelotti, no Jude Bellingham. pic.twitter.com/qN9PaYjmR0
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 28, 2024
The closeness of these statistics is why El Clasico is such a global spectacle. Now that Barca is returning to top-tier form, they’re undoubtedly breeding some Ballon d’Or contenders of the future, such as Lamine Yamal, which in turn puts the El Clasico back where it should be… As a highly contested, unpredictable encounter between two of the world’s most successful soccer clubs, as opposed to one where Los Blancos is expected to win.
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