Against all odds, Barcelona came into the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday and left with a 1-0 victory in the Copa del Rey semifinal first leg. In the last week, Barca not only lost matches to Manchester United to crash out of Europa League but they also lost to 15th-place Almeria in La Liga. Along with their performance, with Ousmane Dembele, Robert Lewandowski, and Pedri all injured, a Real Madrid win was expected. But taking advantage of one chance by Franck Kessie to force Eder Militao into an own goal was all that Barcelona's defense needed.
Barca weren't able to get much going in attack as Real Madrid dominated possession but Xavi's makeshift defense with Marcos Alonso at center back did more than enough. Real Madrid couldn't even put a shot on target in the match showing just how excellent Barcelona's defensive performance was. Now, Barca will have an advantage heading into the second leg which will be played at the Camp Nou on April 5.
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Xavi's Barcelona showed impressive grit losing the possession battle and defending for 90 mintues and most importantly, Barca took their chances while limiting Real Madrid. These are the kind of adjustments that Barcelona need in order to win a double or even a treble this season, and coming off of back-to-back losses, Xavi has shown that he's able to make the changes that are required to keep his team pushing forward.
They could've let Real Madrid through the center of their defense but instead limited Los Blancos to crossing from wide while dealing with those crosses excellently. Alonso and Jules Kounde combined for 15 headed clearances to keep Madrid's crossing contained while getting to the win.
Even Xavi noted that the team defended well without the ball even though it's not Barcelona's normal style. Seven points ahead in La Liga, while already winning the Spanish Super Cup this season, Xavi is pushing the right buttons.
Never seeming like they wanted the match, Real Madrid never got a shot on goal and played right into Barcelona's hands with crosses from wide. This will give Barcelona the advantage heading into the second leg on April 5 when more of their regular members of the squad will be available. It was an Eder Militao own goal that would make the difference.
An Eder Militao own goal is the only thing to separate these sides as Barcelona's defense has been excellent at protecting their lead. Somehow, Real Madrid has yet to register a shot on target so far in the match.
He'll replace Toni Kroos adding a threat from range and someone who will dive into tackles to get the attack going in the match too.
That was a chance for Barcelona to go ahead 2-0 but Raphinha misses his chance to play Torres in. Ansu Fati will enter the match to add fresh legs to the squad.
The move sees Camavinga move to left back to switch things up in attack. This will give Barcelona's defense more to think about for thr remaining 20 mintues.
Changes are coming in Rodrygo who can help drive through the middle of the pitch. While Benzema's runs are what makes Real Madrid tick, they need him to stay central which Rodrygo will help with.
Real Madrid are dictating possession and it again feels like not if but when they'll find the back of the net. Los Blancos still have to go wide to creat things but the team is more than talented enough to cut through the Barcelona defense.
Players are trying to wind each other up as the game is beginning to get chippy.
No changes from either side so far but Real Madrid are driving forward as they look to make a statement early in the second half.
Despite dealing with injuries, Barcelona has gone into the half ahead 1-0 against Real Madrid. Barcelona's attack has sputtered but they've caused enough damage on the counter to get past Real Madrid. Los Blanco's midfield hasn't been able to make Barcelona's defense step up but with halftime tweaks, this game is there for the taking.
Real Madrid's attack looks great until they actually get into Barcelona's defensive third and they aren't able to string passes together. If something doesn't change soon, there could be adjustments coming at halftime so that Real can establish true control in the match.
But Kessie is down in the box for Barcelona. It was following an attempted clearance from Kounde into Kessie's ribs so it was only a knock and the midfielder will continue.
Franck Kessie has the ball in the back of the net after a mistake from Camavinga but it was judged to be off. After a review, since Raphinha didn't touch the ball, the goal was given although it will go down as a Real Madrid own goal due to Kessie's shot being saved off of Nacho and Militao.
But they can't get their chance to fall in the box. These need to be taken advantage of if Barca will come out on top in the match as Real Madrid is getting forward but haven't breached the defense yet.
The Frenchman has the ball in the back of the net following a Barcelona defensive breakdown but it won't count. But with two big chances for Real in 12 mintues, it feels like a matter of time until Los Blancos score.
It's a disappointing attacking start to the match for Barca but luckily their defense has held firm early. The absence of Pedri linking things together is showing as there is no cohesion for Barcelona.
The flag was up but Modric was off to the races less than a minute into the game. It shows Real Madrid's intent to go ahead early in the match and see things out.
We'll be underway for the first leg of a two legged tie in the Copa Del Rey. While these are usually cagy due to the two legged nature, Real Madrid will want to take advantage of playing at home.
Mike Goodman takes a deep dive into the tactics behind the game.
A look at these two squads now will show that, in fact, they are incredibly similar. To some degree this was inevitable. Golden generations like the group Barcelona's success was built on wouldn't be golden if they came around all the time. The fact that one of them is still manning midfield for them in Sergio Busquets, and another is now managing for them in Xavi is not enough to stem the tides of time. And really, after a summer spending spree which landed Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Franck Kessie, Marcos Alonso, and Andreas Christiansen, it's hard not to wonder what that Catalan word for Galactico is.
And this change in approach is reflected on the field. Barcelona have a seven-point lead in La Liga, but really both teams have pretty similar top-line stats. Barcelona have scored 45 goals to Madrid's 47, and conceded eight to Madrid's 18, with their underlying expected goal stats even closer, 46.4 vs. 48.6 in attack and 18.8 vs. 20.4 in defense. It's when you look under the hood that things get interesting.
It could be a tough match without Pedri, Dembele, and Lewandowski
Starters: Ter Stegen; Araujo; Sergio; Gavi; Ferran; Marcos Alonso; Kiessie; De Jong; Raphinha; Kounde; Balde
Reserves: Ansu Fati; Inaki Pena; Christensen; Jordi Alba; Roberto; Eric; Pablo Torre; Arnau Tenas; Alarcon; Estanis
8: Goals allowed by Barcelona in 23 league matches -- Check out some of the others here
This is a bit of a misleading statistic as while Barca allows 0.35 goals per La Liga match played, it's a number that ballons when they enter cup competition. Across 15 cup matches this season, Barcelona have allowed 19 goals for a much more reasonable 1.23 goals allowed per match. While that's still a great number, it does show that when Barcelona's defense is tested by good attackers -- which Real Madrid have -- that their defense can be bested. It's especially an issue when Barcelona are doing things like playing Marcos Alonso at center back which is great for a possession-based game but can come back to haunt them if they're on the back foot.
Tchouameni will begin the match from the bench but other than that, things are as expected for Los Blancos.
Starters: Courtois; Carvajal; Militao; Nacho; Kroos; Benzema; Modric; Camavinga; Valverde; Vini Jr.; Rudiger
Reserves: Lunin; Luis Lopez; Vallejo; Hazard; Asensio; Odriozola; Lucas; Tchouameni; Ceballos; Rodrygo; Mariano; Alvaro
Ferland Mendy is yet to recover from a thigh injury which he suffered in the quarterfinals against Atleti. Rodrygo and David Alaba have also been struggling with injuries of late after the UEFA Champions League first-leg win over Liverpool. The Brazilian could return after training recently but the Austria international is out. Luka Modric's suspension will only kick in against Real Betis this weekend while Aurelien Tchouameni should partner him in the middle after the flu.
Robert Lewandowski is likely to be out with a hamstring injury which is a significant blow for the Catalans. Ousmane Dembele and Pedri will also miss out with injuries but Ansu Fati could yet make it. Ferran Torres is another alternative to Lewandowski while Raphinha could also return after a foot injury following the Manchester United loss in the UEFA Europa League.
This season is a treat with five El Clasicos on the docket. So far Real Madrid and Barcelona have split them with each side winning one 3-1 but today's Copa Del Rey could give one a critical advantage. Despite Real Madrid trailing Barcelona in La Liga, if Los Blancos can win Copa Del Rey and Champions League this could still be considered a successful season. Despite Barcelona coming into the match with injuries to key players like Robert Lewandowski, Xavi has still gotten the team to perform with backups so certainly don't count them out in the match.
