Despite being without key players due to injuries, Barcelona had a night to rejoice at the Santiago Bernabeu. It was an epitome on how deep Barcelona’s squad can run into.
Table of contents
El Clasico Match Preview with Predicted Lineup and Squad List
First Half
As we predicted in our preview, Xavi went with Alonso in the back line to avoid risking Christensen’s minor injury.
Benzema scored 12 minutes into the game after picking up a pass from Vinicius. However, the Frenchman was slightly ahead, and the goal was called off. Then, in the 24th minute, Vinicius became the first to be booked, receiving a yellow card for a foul on De Jong.
Barcelona took the lead in the 26th minute of the game thanks to an own goal from Militao. Camavinga’s error allowed Ferran to get to the ball and find Kessie. Then Kessie tried to fire it past Courtois, which eventually resulted in a goal after the Militao’s reflection.
Raphinha was booked with a yellow card in the 45th minute for a foul on Vinicius. However, Barcelona managed to head into the dressing room with a slender 1-0 lead at halftime.
Second Half
Gavi was shown a yellow card for pushing Vinicius during a corner just six minutes into the second half. Nacho soon followed the trend, receiving a yellow card for a foul on Raphinha.
Kessie became Montero’s fifth victim in the 66th minute, receiving a yellow for using his arms in a dispute with Carvajal. The game progressed alone, with Madrid dominating possession but posing no threat.
Xavi made his first substitution of the night in the 69th minute. He replaced Raphinha with Fati. Three minutes later, Ferran Torres set Kessie up again with a beautiful pass, which the Ivorian managed to shoot on target but was blocked by his own teammate Fati. If not for Fati’s interception, it could’ve been 2-0 for Barcelona.
Franck Kessié couldn’t believe Ansu Fati blocked his chance to make it 2-0
The yellow card tally reached six by the 73rd minute, when Valverde was booked for a foul on De Jong. Xavi then made his second and final substitution in the 86th minute, replacing Kessie with Roberto.
Game progressed alone with no real threat from any of the team.
Our Thoughts
In Barcelona’s standards, last night’s victory was out of character. We are known for dominating possession and then capitalizing on the opportunities we create.
In contrast, we only had 35% possession and 2 shots on target last night. When our archrivals had 65% possession in their own backyard, we defended our souls out. Despite being in such a good form, Madrid failed to have a single shot on target against Barcelona, for the first time since 2010.
The lead appears to be a safe haven for Barcelona. The likes of Lewandowski, Pedri, and Dembele are expected to return for the second leg. With home advantage, Barcelona will go into the second leg as favourites, while Real Madrid will try their hardest to take revenge.
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How do you rate the squad depth of FC Barcelona?
Will they be able to take this momentum into their future games as well?
