Barcelona – Real Madrid: The Catalans Back-to-Back Kings (3-2)

Clinical Barcelona came out as champions of the Spanish Super Cup for the second year in a row. El Clásico was ignited after the Catalans opened up the score, followed by an enthralling series of events. Both teams exploited each other’s defensive frailties. Nonetheless, efficiency handed the title on a plate to the Catalans.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

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Since their defeat against Chelsea, Barcelona has been on a meteoric rise, claiming nine consecutive wins. Before traveling to Saudi Arabia, the Catalans came out unscathed from their clash against Espanyol. Joan García stood as an impenetrable wall against Espanyol’s attacks, whereas Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski assumed the responsibility to find the back of the net in the final moments of the game. Barcelona’s last match saw them thrash past their former manager’s team, Athletic Club, to secure the Super Cup final ticket. Off the pitch, it was confirmed that Barcelona would be re-signing Joao Cancelo on loan from Al Hilal for the rest of the season.

After the disastrous form that Real Madrid had gone through before the new year, it seems that Xabi Alonso and his team are on the track of bouncing back. After the New Year break, Real Madrid returned to the Bernabéu Stadium, edging past Real Betis in the absence of Kylian Mbappé. Gonzalo Garcia, the Club World Cup top scorer, rose to the occasion, scoring his first hat-trick with Los Blancos. The La Liga victory appeared to be a needed push for Alonso’s men before the Madrid Derby in Saudi Arabia. Despite the average performance, Real Madrid sealed their place in the final thanks to Federico Valverde’s rocket free kick and Rodrygo, who is confirming his phenomenal ascent since the Manchester City game.

Xabi Alonso made a single change to the team that started Atlético Madrid’s game. Dean Huijsen replaced the injured Antonio Rüdiger to partner with Tchouaméni at the heart of the backline. Raul Asencio and Alvaro Carreras operated as fullbacks. Eduardo Camavinga joined Jude Bellingham in the middle of the park. Federico Valverde functioned on the right and Rodrygo on the left. Vinicius Junior and Gonzalo Garcia led the attack.

Hansi Flick also made changes to his starting lineup that featured against Athletic Club. The backline remained intact as Jules Koundé, Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia, and Alejandro Balde sat behind a double pivot formed by Frenkie De Jong and Pedri. Roony Bardghji made way for Lamine Yamal on the right, whereas Raphinha and Fermin Lopez functioned behind Robert Lewandowski.

Barcelona’s responses to Real Madrid’s out-of-possession approach

The start revealed both contenders’ intentions. Real Madrid gave up possession to Barcelona and put more effort into closing down the defense. When pressing high, Vinicius Junior led the process, with Gonzalo Garcia dropping to keep tabs on Frenkie De Jong. Rodrygo and Valverde jumped onto Barcelona’s fullbacks, whereas Bellingham and Camavinga dealt with Pedri and Fermin Lopez, respectively. At the backline, Alvaro Carreras and Raul Asencio were tasked with stepping out on Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, with Tchouaméni and Huijsen doubling up on Lewandowski.

At the start of the clash, Real Madrid forced Barcelona to channel their play toward the touchlines and obliged Lamine Yamal to receive with his back to the goal. Alvaro Carreras succeeded in pushing his man deeper and was close to turning the ball over, should he have exerted full control of the ball. However, Lamine Yamal was able to immediately regain the ball and skip past Real Madrid’s left back, which allowed him to recycle. Barcelona switched the play to the left side via short passes around. Raphinha, operating inside, gave Balde license to push on and drag Valverde deeper with him. As a result, Eric Garcia had space to carry the ball around and prod channel balls onto Raphinha.

From a medium block, Rodrygo would jump onto Koundé, whereas Bellingham and Gonzalo Garcia marked Pedri and De Jong. At the front line, Vinicius Junior curved his run to block off the passing lane between Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia. Real Madrid’s proceedings drove Barcelona’s backline to rely on Juan Garcia to bridge between the pitch’s sides. As a reaction, Xabi Alonso’s team altered their jumps. Gonzalo Garcia pounced on Eric Garcia, Bellingham followed De Jong, and Vinicius Junior retreated toward Pedri. Barcelona had to work the ball around and try from the right side. Lamine Yamal’s deeper movements triggered Carreras’ jump. That saw Pedri running to exploit the evacuated wide channel. However, Gonzalo Garcia and Alvaro Carreras doubled up on Pedri.

Pedri joining the ball side on the right meant that Bellingham would follow him across. Additionally, Balde, pushing high up the pitch, pinned Valverde backward. Hence, Eric Garcia roamed in free space to carry the ball around. With the late lateral shift from Vinícius Júnior, Eric Garcia scampered forward and looked to access Lewandowski between the lines.

12th minute: Valverde jumps onto Balde and prevents Barcelona from working the ball down the touchlines. So, the Catalans work the ball around to find Lamine Yamal dropping out. The latter prods the ball inside to nobody, allowing Bellingham to collect the loose ball and recycle.

To push Real Madrid deeper, Koundé advanced down the right half-space, taking position inside the box and drawing Rodrygo with him. Huijsen, Tchouaméni, and Asencio engaged with Fermin Lopez, Lewandowski, and Raphinha. In the meantime, Pedri drifted wide to pull out Camavinga, who provided support to Carreras against Lamine Yamal. As a reaction, Bellingham shuffled across to cover the right half-space, whereas Valverde narrowed inside, protecting the space in front of the backline. Lamine Yamal tended to access Frenkie De Jong inside. That saw Bellingham and Gonzalo Garcia swarm around the Dutch midfielder, forcing him backward.

Barcelona’s rotations drove Real Madrid’s center-backs to follow their men when they dropped out, and the midfielders to retreat when the opposite midfielders pushed on. Central entry was closed off, so the Catalans had to try to work the ball around. Inside diagonal passes from Koundé to Fermin Lopez seemed to be the solution to infiltrate the space between the lines. However, Camavinga’s timed sliding tackles halted Fermin Lopez, which allowed Bellingham to collect the loose ball. As a response, Raphinha committed a foul to prevent the Englishman from countering.

27th minute: Rodrygo being fixated on providing support to Carreras against Lamine Yamal unlocks the passing lane between the latter and Jules Koundé. Barcelona’s pair exchange passes, whereas Fermin Lopez pins Camavinga down the right half-space. That vacates the byline for Lamine Yamal to attack and square the pass into Huijsen’s feet.

Barcelona found central inroads to break through Real Madrid. That came through Frenkie De Jong drifting wide, encouraging Gonzalo Garcia to shift across. Additionally, Vinicius Junior was fixated on cutting off the passing lane between Eric Garcia and Pau Cubarsi, whereas Pedri pushed on to drag Bellingham with him. Meanwhile, Fermin Lopez tied Camavinga’s hands. As a result, Cubarsi was able to carry the ball centrally until Vinicius Junior tracked back, nipping in the bud Cubarsi’s chance to find Lamine Yamal inside. Camavinga was unable to collect the loose ball, which allowed Lewandowski to pick up the ball between the lines and set up Lamine Yamal in a one-on-one situation against Carreras.

Real Madrid’s wide progression and long deliveries 

In possession, Real Madrid constructed their attacks in a 3-2-5 fashion. Alvaro Carreras advanced next to Rodrygo, operating at different heights of the pitch. Vinicius Junior and Gonzalo Garcia functioned in close proximity down the central channel, whilst Valverde narrowed inside on the right. Real Madrid worked the ball around Barcelona’s 4-1-4-1 medium block. Rodrygo, unpressurized, slid a curled pass between Koundé and Cubarsi to Vinicius Junior. The latter sneaked behind the blindside of Cubarsi to punish the space behind the backline. Eric Garcia shuffled to shut down the Brazilian. As a consequence, Gonzalo Garcia remained free, facing the goalkeeper. However, Eric Garcia blocked off Vinicius’s square pass.

Camavinga triggered Fermin Lopez’s jump when he came close to Huijsen and Tchouaméni. So, Real Madrid had to look for options around to progress. Carreras picked out Rodrygo near the flanks. Meanwhile, Vinicius Junior shifted across, overloading Koundé on the left. Rodrygo flicked the ball to his compatriot, putting him in an isolated situation against Pau Cubarsi. Vinicius Junior pushed the ball into space, leaving Cubarsi in his wake to face the goalkeeper. However, his effort fell into Juan Garcia’s hands.

On some occasions, Real Madrid built up in a 4-3-3 formation, in which Rodrygo joined the midfield, forming a narrow shape, whereas Valverde joined Vinicius Junior and Gonzalo Garcia at the front line. Barcelona proceeded with Fermin Lopez jumping onto Huijsen, and Lewandowski was ready to run toward Courtois in case of a backward pass. As the ball was with Huijsen, Raphinha took a position between Raul Asencio and Tchouaméni. At the backline, Barcelona maintained the numerical superiority, which means that they were underloaded somewhere on the pitch. In midfield, Barcelona committed Pedri and De Jong to press Bellingham and Rodrygo. Hence, Camavinga remained free behind the first line of the press.

Huijsen couldn’t access Camavinga and opted for a diagonal long ball toward Valverde. A battle for the second ball took place between Valverde-Asencio and Balde-Raphinha. Real Madrid’s pair won the contest and picked out Bellingham. The latter cut diagonally to target the space around De Jong to find Rodrygo. However, the Dutch midfielder intercepted Bellingham’s pass. Valverde snaffled the loose ball to feed Rodrygo in space in front of the backline. The Brazilian released Gonzalo Garcia behind. Real Madrid shots ended in Juan Garcia’s hands.

Enthralling end to the first half

Transitioning from a zonal defense to a man-oriented approach in the middle third left Real Madrid vulnerable, as the space between the pressing unit and the backline appeared for the Catalans to target. Eric Garcia slid a line-breaking pass to De Jong, who strolled freely between the lines. That enticed Camavinga to hand Fermin Lopez to Carreras to jump out onto De Jong. Hence, the latter had Lamine Yamal roaming freely near the touchlines. In the meantime, Rodrygo recovered his position, stepping out on Yamal at the edge of the box. At the backline, Lewandowski and Koundé overloaded Huijsen as a consequence of Carreras joining Rodrygo. Thus, Lamine Yamal would combine with the pair until Vinicius Junior retreated and Bellingham shuffled across, swarming around to regain the ball. 

33rd minute: Pau Cubarsi spots the space around Real Madrid’s midfield to pick out Pedri around Bellingham. Valverde steps out on Balde, which enables Pedri to head toward the space behind the Uruguayan. Bellingham tracks back his man, vacating the midfield for Raphinha to come close and curl the ball into space behind. Asencio, late in stepping out, allows Pedri to punish his evacuated zone, driving forward to cut the ball back. Carreras comes from behind to disrupt Fermin Lopez.

Miscued passes hindered Real Madrid’s capability to establish control. Not only that, but it left them susceptible to counterattacks. The thirty-four minutes saw Raphinha, Balde, and Pedri swarm around Valverde near the touchlines after the latter had collected Cubarsi’s clearance. As a reaction, Valverde worked the ball back toward Huijsen. Fermin Lopez cut it off on its way to the target and laid it off to Lewandowski. The latter switched the play to Lamine Yamal, who, from the first time pass, released Raphinha behind the backline. The Brazilian squandered an isolated situation against Courtois.

Two minutes later, Real Madrid couldn’t benefit from the overload they had in the buildup line. Rodrygo miscued his backward pass to the free Camavinga in the middle of the park. Fermin Lopez collected the ball and set off Raphinha behind the advanced Raul Asencio. The Brazilian scampered forward, driving his body toward the outside to generate an angle for shooting. Raphinha waited for Tchouaméni to spread his legs and guide the ball home toward the far post.

By the end of the first half, Eric Garcia pounced on Gonzalo Garcia’s pass to Rodrygo to counter Real Madrid’s counterattack. He drove forward, attempting to pick out Lewandowski between Tchouaméni and Huijsen. However, the former stepped up to initiate the counterattack. Barcelona had only De Jong, Cubarsi, and Koundé as rest defense players who were distant from the attacking unit. As a consequence, Gonzalo Garcia isolated Vinicius against Koundé. The Brazilian progressively carried the ball until he approached the box. He dribbled past Koundé and Pedri, penetrating the box, skipping past Cubarsi to level the tie.

45+4th minute: The space around the Real Madrid block encourages Bellingham to jump on Eric Garcia and cut off the passing lane between him and Pedri. Raphinha drops deeper to link between Eric Garcia and Pedri, capitalizing on Asensio’s lateness in stepping out. Pedri glides a pass to Lewandowski to take advantage of the lack of organization between the center-backs and restore Barcelona’s lead.

Real Madrid didn’t wait for so long to revisit the Catalans’ net. Three minutes later, Rodrygo released an outswinging corner toward the central area at the edge of the six-yard box. Huijsen towered over, sending the ball toward the far post. Raphinha cleared it off the line to hit the woodwork. Gonzalo Garcia gobbled up the rebound to equalize the score.

Real Madrid incapable of finishing their transitions

In the second half, Hansi Flick altered Barcelona’s high press. Lamine Yamal joined Lewandowski to mark the center-backs, whilst Fermin Lopez retreated to neutralize the numerical superiority Real Madrid were generating in the first half in midfield. Raphinha followed Asencio, and Koundé ran toward Carreras. At the backline, Barcelona matched Real Madrid in numbers.

Five minutes into the second half, Real Madrid worked the ball around to Raul Asencio, who spun around Raphinha to feed Bellingham. By darting wide, the English midfielder evacuated the center by drawing Pedri with him. Valverde caught De Jong’s attention by joining the ball zone on the right. Resultantly, Camavinga was free to switch the play to the left, where Real Madrid had Vinicius, Rodrygo, and Carreras outnumbering Koundé and Cubarsi. Vinicius Junior cut inside and powered a low shot. Juan Garcia hardly saved it, clearing the ball toward the edge of the six-yard box. Vinicius gathered the rebound; however, he blasted the ball over.

Real Madrid tweaked their high press as well. The White team pressed with Gonzalo Garcia and Vinicius Junior at the front line, with Camavinga and Bellingham monitoring Pedri and De Jong. Huijsen stepped up to close down Fermin Lopez. Rodrygo ran toward Koundé. When the ball was on Barcelona’s right side, Valverde dropped off to offer the extra defender across the backline.

The Catalans tended to make use of the gap between the pressing unit and the defensive line by having Lewandowski withdraw to receive Cubarsi’s line-breaking pass. The Polish striker miscued his curled pass toward Lamine Yamal. Carreras, from a first-time pass, fed Vinicius behind the backline. Rodrygo joined his compatriot, creating a two-versus-two situation at the edge of the box. The pair exchanged passes for Vinicius Junior to fire a shot.

Half an hour gone, both teams enjoyed the spaces behind their backlines in counterattacks. Nonetheless, Real Madrid was close to scoring. From a transition, Raphinha headed toward the byline to cut the ball back to the players coming from behind. Carreras mopped up the loose ball, whereas Camavinga switched to Rodrygo on the left. The latter clipped it into space behind Koundé. Vinicius embarked on a sprint, waiting for Rodrygo’s overlap to set him up toward the byline. The Brazilian duo combined for Rodrygo to face the goalkeeper. However, Juan Garcia found no difficulty in saving the shot.

Space between Real Madrid’s lines

One of Barcelona’s midfielders tended to operate around Real Madrid’s second line, whereas the other strolled across. De Jong, pushing on down the left inside channel, forced Gonzalo Garcia to retreat. So, Real Madrid defended in a 5-4-1 low block. Pedri roamed across between Vinicius and the midfield line, luring Camavinga to follow him. Meanwhile, Gonzalo Garcia jumped onto Eric Garcia, encouraging Bellingham to occupy De Jong. That stretched the space between the lines for Lewandowski to drop in and generate a numerical superiority. The Polish striker benefited from Raphinha pinning Asencio and Tchouaméni to receive in space and shoot.

71st minute: Dani Olmo runs toward the space between Huijsen and Carreras, drawing Camavinga’s attention. Ferran Torres’ position between the lines ties Bellingham at the edge of the box. Therefore, De Jong arrives in a large space in front of Real Madrid’s midfield. That entices Bellingham to jump out. Lamine Yamal drifts infield and targets the space around the penalty area, dragging Carreras and Rodrygo across. As a result, Koundé is free to receive De Jong’s chip and square the pass to Lamine Yamal, whose shot is denied by a quick reflex from Courtois.

Two minutes later, Barcelona exploited the gap between Real Madrid’s lines. De Jong caught Camavinga’s attention down the right half-space. Bellingham and Gonzalo Garcia’s late retreat unlocked a diagonal passing lane between Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, and Ferran Torres. The latter navigated passes with Olmo, who squared the ball for Raphinha to create separation against Raul Asencio. The former shot the ball to be deflected by Asencio toward the net.

After substitutions, Real Madrid retained the same approach when pressing high up the pitch. Xabi Alonso’s team channeled the play toward Barcelona’s right flank, relying on Carreras to get tight on Lamine Yamal and close him down. Real Madrid’s left back was able to recover the ball and turn over, going through traffic. Real Madrid generated an overload around Balde. However, Carreras’ crosses were easy to defend against. Not only that, but Barcelona exploited Real Madrid’s numbers in attack to counter via Rashford.

Takeaways

In the final moments of the game, Real Madrid was close to capitalizing on Barcelona’s defensive frailties from open play and set pieces. However, the last touch failed Xabi Alonso’s team from leveling the score. At the end, the clinical team won the Spanish Super Cup. Statistically, Real Madrid created seven big chances and squandered five, whilst Barcelona produced four and missed three. It becomes crystal clear that the absence of Kylian Mbappé negatively impacts the team in terms of finishing chances.

Match plots will be added as soon as possible.