It was a night that will be remembered for long in the Barcelona history books. This probably the only time Madrid has lost 4 back to back Clasico's at home. In proper context, this match was easily Valverde’s best as a Barcelona coach considering his preference to defensive solidarity over attacking flair.
The start of of the match was as tricky as it could get.The referee was substituted days before the match, Ramos was said to be suffering from some hamstring problem before the match and Barcelona’s chance to have more El Clásico wins than Real Madrid for the first time in 87 years. The night was simply historical in every sense for both the club, the day that this complex of inferiority towards Real Madrid completely ended.
Johan Cruyff started his revolution when he arrived as a footballer in a depressed Barcelona in the shadow of Real Madrid, he continued it in the 90s, then special footballers like Guardiola and Messi completely finished the Dutchman’s job. Younger fans will struggle to understand or maybe won’t even get it at all, but the Barcelona of today was a far cry from the club it was when Cruyff arrived. Nowadays, there’s an identity, a belief, and most importantly: resolve
.If you consider that Valverde’s greatest strength as a coach is analyse and adjust midway through matches, the last two matches vs Real Madrid were a single game of four halves.
Barcelona were laid waste in the first 45, in the second half it regrouped and started to regain its composure, in the third half things came together with a strong, confident showing that led to the real win, and the fourth half completely controlled and killed Real Madrid.
Tonight was all about winning. Lahoz handling VAR while Undiano, thankfully retiring this season, on pitch making things even worse, this could never be anything but winning by all means necessary. There’s no room to complain about aesthetics and playing beautifully this time.
The second half of this match was Valverde’s ideal performance. Real Madrid never really looked like scoring, and looked beaten as soon as Rakitic scored. Vidal was outstanding after Arthur handled the match, and the entire back line was nearing perfection.
If the fear of losing is Valverde’s greatest weakness, it can also be turned into a strength depending on the context. This time, differently to Roma, he got it right big time. Real Madrid were reduced to a club fighting relegation desperately crossing inside the box.
Piqué was the man of the match. He truly looked like he was everywhere! Every cross, challenge, clearance and block with the best of his decision making. One of the best performances of his career, incredible.
Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto, Ter Stegen, Lenglet, Busquets, Arthur, Rakitic, all of them played like they were invincible. The forward line of Messi, Suárez and Dembélé was mostly sacrificed to cover gaps, but nevertheless they also performed great.
EIGHTY SEVEN years ago was the last time Barcelona had more El Clásico wins than Real Madrid. It’s a special night, three points are a mere detail in comparison.
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