There was a time when a Barça-Madrid and its rivalry paralyzed the sports world. And more so if the match was decisive and had the overtones of a judge: if the winner could deal a sentencing blow or reopen and re-engage in the fight. Days run less distinguished, more impure. In the middle of the Negreira case, football has it difficult. With Real Madrid appearing as a private prosecution in the legal case. With the inscription of Gavi kicking. While the successes of the VAR in San Mamés are being questioned. And just after the Champions League. But the classic exists.
Two recent gestures corroborate their closeness. On the one hand, Koundé muscled up after saving a ball from Yuri on the line that entered Athletic's triple final chance. On the other, the four changes that Ancelotti made from minute 80 against Liverpool: he retired Benzema, Modric, Vinícius and Kroos.
Sergi Roberto, Semedo, Dest and Dani Alves. All of them have passed through the right side of Barça and they have had to dance with Vinícius, a winger as dangerous as he is volcanic. The Brazilian has dribbling, speed and nerve and is a source of constant danger. That with the ball. Without the ball, he is also capable of driving the opponent to despair with an underground game. That was also the case against Barcelona until Ronald Araújo joined him. Xavi decided to move the center back to the wing for the first time in March 2022 and the Blaugrana won 0-4 at the Bernabéu. Every time the Uruguayan has taken charge of Vini, the Brazilian has not shone and Barça has won (1-3 in Riyadh and 0-1 in the Cup). In the League, in the first round, he was injured and Madrid clearly prevailed. In those three games, Araújo was only dribbled twice, while Vinícius' dribbling success dropped to 50% (7 of 15).
The inside game of Barcelona decreases to unsuspected minimums when Pedri is not there. It happened last season and it has happened again this time when the canary was injured in the first part of the first leg against United. Pedri has lost six and a half games since February 16. This week he has returned to training and if nothing goes wrong he will be in the classic. Headline? It is never advisable to return to play 90 minutes of so much wear and tear, but the team needs him like rain in May. Without him, this month, only in two games has Barcelona scored more than one goal (United and Cádiz, both at home). Pedri orders the attack, directs it, gives it speed or pause and is a threat when he steps into the area (7 goals this season).
This will be Xavi's sixth official classic as coach. In the other five there are only two outfield players who have never dropped out of the lineup: Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong. The two midfielders are essential for the coach and the style he wants to propose. Both are reliable even on the most nervous days. Against Madrid you have to have the ball, keep it and not lose it so as not to invite the whites to run. Busquets and De Jong, rarely in parallel and often one in front of the other, are safe whether playing with the first touch or driving. In Xavi's five classics, the two have had a 90% pass success rate. The captain made 102 good deliveries in Riyadh. On the 0-4 day at the Bernabéu, the Dutchman only missed three passes out of 56 that he gave. In addition, for Busquets it will be his 47th classic, two more than Messi and Sergio Ramos. For his part, De Jong still doesn't know what it's like to beat the whites at the Camp Nou.
Between the two they have 1,300 matches in the elite. They have spent half their lives in the fields of Europe. Robert Lewandowski, 34, changed airs in the summer to lead Barça's attack after 12 years in the Bundesliga. And the Pole has not disappointed, although he has gone from more to less. With 25 goals, he is the top scorer for the Blaugrana and Xavi compares him to Ronaldinho for the change in mentality that he has helped promote in a young dressing room. When Lewandowski landed in Germany, it had been a year since Karim Benzema (35) had arrived in Madrid. There are already 14 seasons and 341 goals for white. The Camp Nou, where many consider that he would have fit in perfectly, does not suit him too well: three goals, the last in 2016.
Is it necessary to master possession to win? Barcelona, much to their regret, showed in the last classic that they are not essential. The blaugrana won with 35% of the ball, a very low percentage. In fact, this course, only in the Super Cup did the one who had the ball the longest win. Madrid, with 680 passes, was unable to beat Ter Stegen in the Cup.
It may seem like a paradox but Madrid is not at all uncomfortable at the Camp Nou, where they have not lost since October 2018. Yes, that day they took a hand (5-1, without Messi), but it is the only defeat in the last nine visits to the Barcelona fiefdom, with four wins and four draws. Yes, but in this classic league only victory is worth it.
