The expected reaction from Barça after the fiasco against Inter did not arrive. On the contrary. The Clásico further blurred the figure of a dwindling Barça team, with effeminate and weak football in the two aspects that are required of a large team: conviction in the game manual and mental strength. Instead of that, a broken toy appeared at the Bernabeu, without spirit, handled by a solid and sharp Madrid, capable of choosing his moments with the precision of an expert surgeon. This time Benzema and Valverde were the ones who pulled out the scalpel in a simple performance for the Whites. And when the Barcelona team, already late, reacted thanks to a goal from Ferran Torres, the referee and the VAR went easy: they tiptoed to a possible penalty from Carvajal to Lewandowski and swiftly pointed out Eric Garcia's to Rodrygo that the Brazilian transformed.
Barça, with this defeat, loses the leadership and the emotional terrain recovered at the beginning of the season. He has returned to the starting box, as if the millionaire signings had not helped to promote any change. Laporta and Xavi's project is going through a terrible time. The discourse of euphoria sounds distant, drowned out by a reality that once again brings too recognizable darkness.
And that Barça started the game pretending to be calm, less accelerated than the day of Inter and more grouped around the ball as if they had learned their lesson. But the staging was tricky: it was actually a concession from Madrid, as always without any problems of conscience for crouching in their own field and waiting for their moment. The initial Blaugrana attacks were few and lukewarm, not at all threatening, a long shot from Raphinha and a couple of approaches without poison. Madrid, on the other hand, with the first opportunity already pulled out the knife.
Launched by Kroos, whom Busquets left thinking, Vinícius went in an open field race against Sergi Roberto (unequal duel, he beat him without problems), the Brazilian's shot was rejected by Ter Stegen but not by Benzema, who found out with intuition the trajectory of the rebound to shoot the German. The history of football is sometimes unoriginal. Light domain of Barça and lethal sting of Madrid (minute 11). How many times has that been written?
Excessively self-absorbed and without Gavi's anger, sitting on the bench, Xavi's team attacked without conviction, still depressed by the Champions League fiasco and Benzema's premature strike. His first real warning did not come until the 25th minute. Pedri detected Raphinha from the right and he put in a low cross that Frenkie de Jong did not reach by the hair but Lewandowski did, too forced a meter from the goal to the point of send the ball high. To summarize: the typical move that dressed in white ends up inside.
In order not to deny the chronicler, Madrid scored a goal in his next attack. Minute 34. It costs little for Ancelotti's team to score goals, and more so in the face of the mental and defensive flaccidity of their usual rival, a trembling flan whoever plays when the opponent is great. Even Koundé, a top world center-back, was infected by Barcelona's trembling. He did what Madrid wanted from the front of the area until the ball reached Valverde, a footballer who, in addition to eating Balde down the right lane, took advantage of that exit to target Ter Stegen with a hard and precise shot . A drama was coming. Madrid felt comfortable in their own skin and Barça exhibited fragility. A long willful ride by De Jong with an official shot served as an epilogue for the first part.
The game had two paths for Barça from the break to the end, humiliation with a bigger win or holding the guy so as not to leave the Bernabeu on a stretcher. In the end neither one thing nor the other.
Until the final rush arrived, the Barça team attacked with hardly any soul. Busquets, Pedri and De Jong lacked the compass in each pass to tell Madrid where the ball was going to go in a tribute to unbearable predictability. And in front, Dembélé did not leave Carvajal or to take out of band, while Raphinha was a calamity. Both were replaced.
Ferran Torres, Alba and Gavi entered in the place of Raphinha, Balde and Sergio Busquets. Gavi went out to mark territory like a rabid dog, so that it would not be said that at least one Barça footballer felt bad about losing to the eternal rival. And he was followed by Ansu Fati, who entered for Dembélé and finally remembered himself: he was seen fresh and persevering until he starred in a wild gallop down the left flank that Ferran Torres finished off alone at the far post. Barça reduced distances (minute 84) and prowled the tie, but the reaction was placated by the referee: a possible penalty from Carvajal to Lewandowski that the referee ignored added sadness to a team with little personality on the field and no influence outside. The referee did point to a stomp by Eric García. The penalty was converted by the Brazilian.
3 - Real Madrid: Monday; Carvajal (Carvajal, m.88) , Militao, Alabama, Mendy; Tchouameni, Kroos, Modric (Camavinga, m.78); Fede Valverde, Vinicius (Rodrygo, m.85) and Benzema (Marco Asensio, m.88).
1 - Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Kound, Eric Garcia, Bucket (Jordi Alba, m.60); Pedri (Kessie, m.83), Busquets (Gavi, m.60), De Jong; Raphinha (Ferran Torres, 60), Dembele (Ansu Fati, 73) and Lewandowski.
Goals: 1-0, m.12: Benzema. 2-0, m.35: Fede Valverde. 2-1, m.83: Ferran Torres. 3-1, m.91: Rodrygo, penalty.
Referee: José María Sánchez Martínez (Murcian committee). He booked Vinícius (30) and Modric (75) for Real Madrid; and Gavi (81) and Kessié (92) for Barcelona.
Incidents: match corresponding to the ninth day of LaLiga Santander played at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium before 62,876 spectators.
