Real Madrid v Barcelona: tactical preview
Probable line-ups for this game
The third Clasico in twelve days presents the two managers with more selection problems.
Team news
There are some crucial absentees for this match. Barcelona captain Carles Puyol is back, but with Maxwell, Adriano and Eric Abidal all unavailable, Barcelona are without a recognised left-back. This means that, after being desperate for so long to get Puyol back in the side for his pace at centre-back, Pep Guardiola is probably going to have to use him at left-back, with Javier Mascherano in the centre of defence.
Andres Iniesta is also out – another big blow for Barcelona, and one that prevents Guardiola dropping one of his forwards to give Iniesta a place in the front three, which was a possibility. Seydou Keita will probably come into the side on the left side of the midfield triangle.
Jose Mourinho is also without two key players. Sami Khedira, who has been excellent in recent weeks, will miss out through injury, whilst Ricardo Carvalho is suspended after picking up a booking against Tottenham. Lassana Diarra is the natural replacement for Khedira, whilst Raul Albiol should come into the side at centre-back, with Sergio Ramos alongside him, and Alvaro Arbeloa at right-back.
Selection decisions
Injury problems mean there are fewer choices for both managers. Guardiola may have considered pushing Iniesta forward and using Mascherano and Sergio Busquets together in midfield, whilst Mourinho would have had a decision to make at the back about Ramos, able to play at either right-back or centre-back.
The starting line-ups in the recent league game
With Guardiola’s first XI very likely to be the one on the right, it is Mourinho who must make a decision about which forwards to play. His shape has varied in the previous two Clasicos, but he’ll essentially use three central midfielders and three attackers. Karim Benzema started the recent league meeting, but in the Copa del Rey Cristiano Ronaldo started as the main forward, with Angel di Maria on the left and Mesut Ozil on the right. That trio seems likely to start again here, and whilst there have been rumours that Ozil will be deployed at some point as a ‘false nine’, Ronaldo is the more natural striker, and has both pace over the top to threaten Barca’s backline, as well as the aerial power that was their downfall in the Copa del Rey final.
Overall strategies
Mourinho used completely different tactics in the recent league and cup meetings. In the league, his side sat behind the ball and soaked up pressure throughout the game, whilst in the cup he used Xabi Alonso deeper in a 4-1-4-1, and told Pepe and Khedira to get into the faces of Iniesta, Busquets and Xavi. It remains to be seen which approach he’ll use here, but the latter seems more appropriate for this game at the Bernabeu. Why? First, Real rested players at the weekend, so should be in a fit condition to press Barcelona throughout the game. Second, Mourinho’s strategy at the same stage of this competition last year (with Inter) was to attack at home, and then defend away. If he’s going for a mix-and-match strategy throughout this contest, it’s surely going to be easier to press effectively at home than at the Camp Nou.
For Barcelona – well, it’s Barcelona, they play the same way all the time, don’t they? Well, not really. And especially not when Guardiola knows he’s got a battle on his hands. He’s constantly adapted his shape for tricky away games over the past year. A quick recap reveals that he played Dani Alves as a right-winger and Carles Puyol at right-back away at Real last season, he switched to a three-man defence at Atletico, did the same at Valencia, and used Iniesta in the front three at Villarreal. He may have another plan here. A back three is highly unlikely since he has no-one who could reasonably play as a left wing-back, so any changes will be more incremental. With Iniesta out and the midfield looking more secure than usual, Guardiola may push Dani Alves even higher up the pitch, as he did against Sevilla, or switch the way the front three operates.
Key areas
The starting line-ups in the recent cup game
It seems silly to question Lionel Messi’s performances in any way, but in the Copa del Rey final, Barcelona struggled upfront (with David Villa and Pedro Rodriguez out of form) as Messi dropped so deep into the midfield. This was the knock-on effect of Real’s pressing, of course – Xavi and Iniesta didn’t have time on the ball to create, so Messi had to come very short to pick up the ball. He’s more than handy with the ball at his feet, but he’s also Barca’s main goal threat, and Guardiola may want him to play higher up the pitch.
Puyol is not used to playing at full-back, but he’s not alien to it either – in fact, at the Bernabeu last year Guardiola deliberately started him at right-back, and then switched him to left-back at half time. The major worry for Barcelona is still the centre-back pairing, both in terms of pace and in the air. Real will try and expose Barcelona at the back as often as possible.
Pepe is arguably the key player. He was excellent in the holding role in the league, and then equally impressive when pushed further forward in the cup. The physical nature of him and Diarra will attempt to overpower Barcelona in the centre – so Keita may actually come in handy.
Barcelona looked better in the cup final when they played with more width – particularly when Pedro started in wide positions and then moved inside to meet through balls. Barcelona usually stretch the opposition defence well, but when Messi drops deep the 4-3-3 can become more of a 4-3-1-2 and Barcelona suddenly look very narrow if Pedro and Villa make the same run inside. Pedro is more intelligent with his movement than Villa, and must give Barcelona options when they have the ball.
Finally, transitions from defence to attack might be vital. European first legs are generally very tight – but this year, that hasn’t particularly been the case. As mentioned earlier, Mourinho attacked Barca at home in last year’s semi-final, and the 3-1 Inter win was a very open game. Both sides can be prone to counter-attacks – Barca at the back, Real when Alonso is left stranded in front of his defence, and therefore quick breaks will be in the minds of both managers.
Other links
ZM article on Guardiola / Mourinho for ITV
Sid Lowe on Xavi and Xabi for the Guardian
Two Pepes in Real formation? Would be fantastic, but it’s impossible
Nothing is impossible for Mourinho…
i would say that nothing is impossible for Pepe! The man is a BEAST pure and simple. I think the two Pepe’s in the formation is appropriate, since Barca may see 3 or 4 of him at one time.
Avoiding a booking has been pretty imposible for him trough the years.
True that.
Yet if José Mourinho COULD clone Pepe, would he settle for just two of them?
I think not.
Who says Mou is incapable of cloning Pepe? After all, Sir Alex cloned his Brazilian right back. Last I heard, Mou was quoting Albert Einstein! Or, rather, he was making up nonsense and attributing it to Albert Einstein. Surely, a man of Mourinho’s tactical genius can do something as trivial as cloning a person!
And referee Wolfgang Stark will be busy throughout the night showing all these Pepe clones yellow and red cards.
No need to kill me, dude ^^^^^^
on topic:
If the Barca-defence really will be Alves-Mascherano-Pique-Puyol, I expect Cristiano to rip them to shreds…
OMG First comment.
I would like to thank you God for this moment.
Well, this is awkward…
hahaha, now that was funny.
Er look again.
you’re awesome
Self-pwned SO HARD
PWND
lol missed it by 3 minutes.
Ill be back !
Is there any possibilty that Mascherano could play left back?
I know he played right back for Liverpool on occasion and it would seem to me more beneficial to have Puyol and Pique together at centre back with Mascherano at left back. Keita should be able to offer him protection as well from the left of midfield, reducing his exposure. He may even be better equipped than puyol to deal with Ozil cutting in from the right.
My money is on Mascherano starting at left back. To my knowledge, Mascherano has never played there before while Puyol has on at least one occasion (particularly, against Real Madrid last season). However, when Puyol played at a left back, it was because Guardiola was pretty sure that Ronaldo was going to be used as a right winger. With Mourinho most recently choosing to Ronaldo as a striker (so he doesn’t have to start Ozil on the bench), my bet is that Puyol is going to play as a center back, where he’s strongest. Not only is Puyol obviously the better center back of the two, but Mascherano appears to be the better passer. Puyol has never been the distributing center back, certainly not when paired with Rafa Marquez, nor with Pique.
Finally, I ought to point out that it doesn’t really matter. Guardiola doesn’t need to give them definite roles that are forbidden to change after kick off. All he has to do is name his starting XI and both are bound to make the list. Watch for Puyol to mirror Ronaldo. If Ronaldo is used as a right winger, Mascherano will play center back. If Ronaldo is used as a striker, Mascherano will play left back.
Agreed! Puyol and Pique somehow has a more assuring feel for a Barca fan than Masc and Pique…
I thought Mascherano was Barcelona’s best player against Osasuna last weekend, playing at center back, and he should be up to the job.
Puyol will be fine defensively at left back, but it will be interesting to see what happens further up the pitch on the left side. If Pedro stays high and cuts inside like he usually does, this could open a huge outlet space for Real Madrid as Puyol won’t look to push forward much. Abidal tended to stay back also, but he also wasn’t afraid to provide late support in forward moves.
As a result, Ronaldo could have acres of space to run at Puyol. Perhaps Keita, playing against more defensive minded players in the center, will close out should Ronaldo drop deeper to pick up possession. Ramos will likely play center back, and, given Arbeloa’s attacking reluctance, Madrid could be missing a chance to overload Barcelona’s most obvious structural weakness.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Xavi with more attacking instructions than usual. Xavi usually is content to sit in between the lines and pull the strings without making the barnstorming runs, but, with a more static partner in Keita, he will be required to support the forwards more directly. This will harken back to Xavi’s days of three or so years ago when he’d be a constant threat to the penalty area. Barcelona will need him to provide llegada in the absence of Iniesta.
Based on the absentees and tactics, I believe we will see a narrow match with essentially 4 versus 4 in the center assuming Real Madrid’s “right” sided player (Ozil/Kaka) plays centrally. A narrow match favors Real, but it might also mean a 0-0 or 1-1 type result- one that would favor Barcelona at home in the return leg.
It will be interesting to see if Mourinho sticks to his disruption plan with the trivote, or if he gets bold and uses 4-2-3-1.
I thought the ITV article was very good, but I think a key influence and the biggest difference between the two coaches went unmentioned.
Johan Cruyff was one of Guardiola’s earliest childhood influences and would become the single biggest influence once Guardiola joined La Masia. Cruyff provided the vision for Guardiola as a player, an idealist, and gave him his big chance. Guardiola’s self-professed two biggest influences are Johan Cruyff and Arrigo Sacchi.
Mourinho, never a top level player, did not develop such a romantic view of the game and this is easily distinguishable in the playing styles the two coaches employ.
Having Puyol playing leftback gives Barcelona big problems imho. They need attacking fullbacks to provide width. Thatswhy Dani Alves is so important for them.
Another question is how fit Puyol? Maybe Mourinho will have Ronaldo playing on the right to test the freshly healed legs of the Catalan Captain with Ozil and Xabi Alonso playing through balls into that channel for the Portugese to outpace Puyol.
With all the selection Problems for Guardiola i think he would be very pleased with a score draw like the one eleven days ago.
I think Mourinho is gonna use Ronaldo on the wing tonight with Adebayor/Benzema up front. Also if Iniesta won’t play, he could even surprise us all with playing Özil/Kaka instead of Lass and go back to the more attacking 4-2-3-1 formation. It is unlikely, but could happen.
Barca are in serious trouble because of the injuries, much more than that of RM. Your article, I am afraid ZM, put the injury scares on a nearly level footing. And it is sure that RM will go to this match more confident about their line up.
Though you do not mention about this, Mou’s tactics is quite clear. He will ask his players to play like they did in the first half of copa final. I hope Barca will at least draw this match, so that they can try for something in Nou camp, next week.
Pep should be regretting his decision to go for a short squad, may be. And Mou is laughing, I think. He has also managed to finally bring out Pep in a press meet. Only if,that can given an extra motivation for Barca players, Mou might keep laughing.
Do not worry, your precious Barca will be ok. Their injury problems are not that bad, especially since they will be getting Puyol back. He is the most important member of the Barca defense, and he is coming back in this game. A HUGE positive. The fact that Iniesta isn’t playing may actually work to Barca’s advantage, since they are now allowed to play with a defensive trivote of their own.
On the other hand, Real are losing the captain of their defense in Carvahlo, just as Barca get their captain of their defense and best defensive player back. Madrid also lose khedira, who is an absolute massive loss. Khedira and Pepe were the two that dominated the middle of the pitch in the last 2 games, khedira may have been one of the most important players. He played that box to box role very well. Now, he is gone, and replaced by whom? Lass? Lass is uncomfortable on the ball and messes up the attack, not to mention he is a bit wild and can get a red card. Especially against Barca, who we will be nice and say “make the most” of the contact.
All in all, I don’t think one is much worse than the other in terms of injuries.
I wholeheartedly disagree. Although Barcelona is in a bizarre situation with THREE left backs injured, they have a very versatile squad. Very few players in the squad are incapable of playing multiple roles. Apparently, just about any talented defensive midfielder is capable of playing center back in Barcelona’s system when paired with Pique (it helps that Mascherano is, surprisingly, a very talented center back). Iniesta is important to the squad, but he was injured for nearly half of last season, so it’s simply untrue to say that Barcelona is incapable of winning without him. As long as one of Iniesta or Xavi is playing and so is Messi, Barcelona should have enough creativity to create a few chances.
Real Madrid, however, is in trouble. With Carvalho out and the obvious importance of playing Pepe in the midfield, Real Madrid must play this game without either of their first choice center backs. Ramos is very talented, but also yellow card prone, which could complicate this game or the next if Ramos picks up a yellow card (presumably, he’ll not want to be suspended from a potential Champions League Final). Finally, Lass is fully capable of playing Khedira’s defensive midfield role, but he’s not nearly as dangerous on the counter attack, which is exactly what Real Madrid needs if it’s going to pick up a goal today.
I expect Real Madrid to play more aggressively in this game than in the last two. Call it Tottenham Syndrome: They’ll not want to sit back behind the ball for the entire game because they won’t be so sure they can prevent Barcelona from scoring a goal.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have Kaka, Benzema, Adebayor and Higuain as backup forwards than Jeffren and Afellay. We could see a repeat of the first leg at the Emirates this season, when Barca tire late and are beaten on the counterattack despite dominating the opening minutes. Madrid will probably go for it late, since they need a two goal cushion to survive in the Camp Nou.
I actually think Alves will play left back and Puyol at right-back, a position he is quite familiar with
So we’re all going to dismiss the aerial threat of Adebayor.
yes, simply because he lacks the speed to start the game. maybe in the final 15-20 minutes, but it depends on how the game is going, & if Barca are that tired. Cristiano offers the best of both worlds (speed & trickery, with height & power) for a good 70-80 minutes, then he becomes selfish and will try to score from just about anywhere. Mourinho has drilled his side for this quarduple classico, but I think we’ll see over these 2 legs what really makes Guardiola so special
Adebayor has tremendous pace my friend, which is why Mourinho wanted him in the first place. If you take his finishing out of the picture he brings so much to the table with his pace in behind to threaten the high line or his aerial prowess for deep defences. Although for such a big man, his hold up play with his back to goal is not very good. Not many targetmen have his skillset.
did I say he’s slow? when Adebayor starts (I’ve seen him at Arsenal, Man City & Madrid) he cannot use his pace on a constant basis. Mourinho’s game plan is to kill Barca’s play at the birth, when the ball is in the defensive zone, with the defenders & Busquets trying to find a way out. Cristiano & Di Maria can do that, they have the ability to constantly run after the ball, closing down space & disrupting the triangles. its synchronzied pretty well actually
It will be better for Madrid to start with a true striker instead of Ronaldo who is more comfortable cutting in from the wings. He missed a hell a lot of chances in the first half in the cup final with beautiful passes from Ozil. If Mourinho starts with Ozil, he should start with Benzema or Higuain. They cant afford to miss that many chances this time, especially at home. This will mean benching Di Maria who tracked Dani alves very well keeping him quiet. But if Alves starts in the midfield instead of back, this can work.
Lass will be a good replacement for Khedira with similar work rates. He can sit deep and allow Alonso to be upfront to provide the key passes. Pepe again will be a key man, no doubt. His energy and physicality will be absolutely crucial.
ZM, the tactical changes that you have mentioned about Guardiola, How many of them had been effective ? Are they responsible for changing a game like that of Pepe in midfield ? I dont think so. Basically what he does is to bring in a different kind of player, but their playing style is all the same. Keep possession as if their life is dependent on it and then patiently probe for space. Have they ever played with high tempo and hitting the opponent on counter ? Unless they play in a different style atleast as plan B, they will remain predictable. It doesnt matter what their formation is.. Against Inter last year, they could have played with 2 at the back, but still would not have won.
That last sentence is hardly true.
They did play with two at the back for the last 20 minutes. Pique became a striker and scored a goal, and Alves barely left Inter’s half.
Disagree with the part about Lass being the one to sit deep. He doesn’t have the tactical acumen to take up such a role, in terms of reading the game. Mourinho will let him off the leash to press Barca with the security of another player behind him. I also think that Alonso as the deepest midfielder was also a ploy to get him the ball in space facing forward to hit the long diagonal balls early. In the first game when Alonso would win the ball he would have a direct opponent and would have to either pass backwards/sideways or hit a more hopeful diagonal.
I’m not convinced that Mou trusts Albiol. The necessary introduction of the more disciplined, traditional DM Diarra for the more dynamic, impetuous Khedira makes me think it’s possible that Pepe will be dropped back to CB to allow for Adebayor or Benzema up front and Ronaldo out on the right-wing (where he can terrorise whoever plays at left-back for Barcelona). Mourinho likes to attack at home, and what better chance will he have to gain a serious advantage than this, while Barcelona are missing some important players and Real Madrid are building up momentum? Rhetorical.
i.e. http://crowdgobananes.blogspot.com/2011/04/real-madrid-v-barcelona-preview.html
Intriguing game ahead of us, and Jose’s biggest challenge.
IF Madrid win tonight, I think they’ll be in the final, Jose is the master of parking the bus, however if Barcelona get anything other than a defeat, I believe it will be they who progress, because I can’t see Madrid chasing the game in Camp Nou. That means Madrid need to have some attack minded mentality tonight, although I think it’s very hard to attack and press Barcelona because they will just exploit the gaps, that’s why I think it’s Mourinho’s biggest challenge, he needs to find a way of successfully getting at Barcelona…
As for the personel issues, starting with Madrid. Big blow that Khedera is missing, as you mention, he’s been really key, notably in the way he presses, harries, tackles, and generally just gets in the faces of the Barcelona players. I think Lass is an able replacement, but Khedera offers more going forward with his driving runs from midfield, so he will be a miss.
Personally, I would use Ronaldo as the midfielder of what ever side Puyol is on, as it does seem likely he will play at full back. I wouldn’t play him up against Alves as he wouldn’t be defensively disciplined to track the superhuman beast that is Alves, and of course Mourinho will be aware of that, but Puyol won’t get forward a great deal, and even if he did, he’s hardly the threat of Alves in the opposing half, and if you have Ronaldo on the wing, who could get at Puyol I hasten to add, you are also freeing a space up front… For Adebayor. Is it just me that thinks Adebayor is actually a very good player, a top 10 striker in the world even? Strong, quick, good in the air, good touch, good hold up play, and if Mascherano plays centre back, surely a height difference Mourinho could look to exploit?! We haven’t seen Adebayor yet, maybe tonight’s the night?
As for Barcelona, stating the obvious but Iniesta is a massive loss. I think he would have gone left hand side tonight, cutting in and linking up with Messi, a role he would have caused alot of problems in, and it’s a creative option other than the central areas where Pepe has just been a one man superhuman wrecking ball.
I’ll give a prediction now, Madrid to nick a win tonight, and do a defensive job on Barcelona next week, typical Mourinho style…
Would it be ridiculous to suggest that Keita could play as a left wingback? He isn’t fast but is defensively aware and has decent stamina.
I believe Adebayor will play. Ozil will be left out. Madrid line-up with intent of a 4-3-3 morphing into a 4-2-3-1 in attack with LASS being the one licensed to move into the hole in possession. Ronaldo on the right allowing Di Maria to help out with Alves. Mou may like this idea because as ZM pointed out he will most likely want to be up when going to the Camp Nou. He may be less worried about a 4-2-3-1 because Barca’s left side is much less attacking than at full strength with Keita and whomever slots in at left back. This would mean Ronaldo wouldn’t have to track back too far and could still use his pace to exploit space and of course link up with a central striker. Pepe can still man mark Xavi who is now their key playmaker.
I have a feeling we will either see another cagey and borderline dirty match, or we will see one of these teams produce something spectacular. Something has to give. Will it be one sided, or will the entire match open with both teams rampant? Whatever it is, it won’t be normal.
Riccardo
I think that Keita has played one or two games at LB before, but I can’t remember when. Maybe last season.
I have a feeling that Keita will start at LB tonight actually…
Reasons:
Keita is left footed and can overlap.
Puyol’s pace and aerial ability might be better used at centre back if Ronaldo plays through the middle.
Mascherano/Busquets/Xavi is a solid midfield for an away leg. I’m sure Pep would rather have Iniesta but not losing is the key tonight so a defensive minded midfield is not such a bad idea.
I was wondering the same thing about Keita. Could see him coping quite well with Ronaldo, and I’m sure Guardiola would love to have the Puyol/Pique combination back in the middle. We’ll see in a couple of hours…
I would be tempted to play Ozil as a false nine. 1) It puts pressure on Busquets, and 2) it draws the Barcelona centre-backs further forward, which opens up a channel for Ronaldo and Di Maria to run into. Depending on how Messi plays it could also give Real an extra man in midfield.
4-1-3-1-1
Should be Madrid formation.
Arbeloa—–Ramos——Pepe—–Marcelo
—————-Xabi Alonso————
—–Kaka——–Diarra——–Di Maria
————Ozil———————–
———————-Ronaldo———-
Or alternatively, swap Ozil where Kaka is, put Higuain at Ronaldo ST position, and use CR7 where Ozil is.
kaka and özil would both be useless as carilleros and xabi alonso and lass wouldn’t be able to handle three central midfielders.
maybe a back 3 isnt soo unlikely.. esp. with alves. having the same lineup as in the 1st diagram but pushing alves into midfield to help keep di maria deeper in his half. leaving masch.. puyol.. pique…
somewhat of a .. 3-1-3-3. there is no left wing back.. but pedro on the left can keep the width and build up play on the right.. overload the right side in an asymmetric attack and have pedro making runs on the blind side… (opposite of what alves does)
with busi pressing higher into midfield and alves trackin di maria back….. it will still be a 3v2 at the back against the counter of ronaldo an ozeil…
..jus my analysis.
Where’s the so called “special one” now? Hahaha… gotta love that positive and attractive football won over the boring and cowardly football tactics.
And not only that, he lost in his home stadium against the team he hates the most. Gotta LOVE that. And he’s gonna be ripped apart at the Camp Nou… again.
Of course, the so called “special one” is gonna blame the referee for this. He always does… that’s his best tactic.
Barca are cheats. Cheating won in this game. Barca are a bunch of divers simple. Disgraceful performance.Pedro and busquets were the ring leaders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT55Sg25hC4
Yes, positive and attractive football against 10 men.
Sideways and backward passes when playing against 11.
And 5 defenders vs. Messi seems to be an uneven fight! A wonder how the constantly aggressive Pepe’s dismissal freed up la Pulga.
Busquets at his best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCNUOsc2QLs
Can people please keep the comments about the tactics.
If you want to make sniping comments about Mourinho, or gloat, or talk about diving or disparage referees there are plenty of other blogs out there for you to waste your time – so boring…
This is a blog about tactics so please keep it to tactics here.
What I found interesting about this game is not so much the formation Barcelona started with (typical 4-3-3…) but the unusual tactics they employed. It’s quite clear that Guardiola gave them a brief, for the first-half at least, to just keep possession in the backline and try to draw Madrid players out of their own half.
For those that doubt Guardiola’s tactical side I think this is a great example of how he spotted an issue and set his team out to remedy it. If you look at the last 2 games Real Madrid set themselves out to contest possession ONLY in their own half. It was a clever move basically saying “Ok, Barca can’t score in their own half so we’ll pack our half and engage them on mass when they cross the halfway line.” Guardiola saw this and how effective it was against his team so he changed tactics I think for 3 reasons:
1) Barca were away and Guardiola would happily take 0-0 back to the Camp Nou
2) Madrid were at home and needed a result
3) He feared a repeat of the 3-1 against Inter
By not attacking Guardiola was able to quiten the crowd and frustrate Madrid who were set-up to counter-attack.In that first half Alves didn’t venture forward (I think to guard against any possible Real counters), Barca happily kept possession in they’re backline and I think this really destabolized the Madrid team. They expected and trained for the usual Barca attack and suddenly realized that they would actually have to take up the initiative to get a result.
Another possible reason for this tactic was the “tiredness” factor which was apparent in the Arsenal game away and the Real game in the league. It looked in those games that Barca had tired after early onslaughts and were picked off with late goals. This may have been a consideration here for Pep. Maintain possession, probe but don’t over commit and finish the game with an attacking onslaught…
I think Guardiola deserves real credit for this tactical switch.
Like they say: you can only counter-attack if the other team attacks you first…
Well said.
That it was working, I think you could see it in Marcelo, and especially, Ozil’s reaction. Ozil at some point was screaming at his fellow Madrid players.
Real was put in a difficult position by this; on one hand they were drilled to defend on their own half, but on the other hand the crowd was growing very impatient and the match seemed to become almost absurd.
Absurd is right! At one point it had the look of one of those dodgy group games where both teams knew a draw would get both of them through to the knock-out stages. I think it worked particularly well against Ronaldo who is prone to frustration.
It really took the bite out of Madrid and they looked a bit lost for the first 30 minutes or so. Adebayor made a bit of a difference in the second half but I think the tactic had made it’s mark by then. Madrid in the Copa final were incredibly disciplined and were almost playing by numbers they were so drilled. In this game there was a lot more indecision, a few doubts about the gameplan and I put this down to the style in the first-half.
Adebayor just ran around punching people during the last 20 minutes. How can he have been included over Benzema and Higuain — such skillful strikers?
Yeah Pep was very wary of the counter. He told Alves to stay at home and he still struggled against Di Maria. One wonders what RM’s lineup vs Valencia would’ve done agains this subpar Barca side.
Offensively, he instructed Pedro and Villa to stay much wider than they had previously although both continued to drift toward the center from time to time. Pep finally make the obvious change of putting in Affelay who plays much wider than Villa and Pedro and appears to be the only Barca player other than Messi and Iniesta who can beat his man. Though he only did this cause of Pedro’s injury. Will Affelay start the next leg or will Pep stubbornly cling to Villa and Pedro.
Villa played better in this match than he has for weeks. He single-handledly created several chances on his own after beating 1-2 men.
Pedro was pivotal in drawing the officials’ attention to Arbeloa’s constant off-the-ball screens and he almost scored a rebound header.
Affelay did provide the extra stamina needed to burn past an already tired Marcelo and create the first goal but he’s hardly a starter yet.
Good point about Adebayor! A lot of the talk pre-game was about the fact that Real Madrid had a much stronger bench so it seems strange that last night Mourinho only chose to make one substitution. I think the point here is that the players you mention did not suit Real Madrid’s tactics for the game.
I think Mourinho set out the team to stop Barcelona. Full stop! They were well drilled in the defensive side of things like most Mourinho teams and it was pretty much the same set-up as the previous 2 games.
The fact that Barca refused to commit men forward however really highlighted what was lacking in Real Madrid’s tactics for the other part of the game – going forward. There were no tactics set out to exploit Barcelona’s weaknesses. No inventiveness in the formation or any attacking strategy that I could see other then “counter” at pace. Mourinho seem to be happy to rely on a moment of magic from Ronaldo, Ozil or Di Maria or a goal from a free-kick.
I agree with you. With the players at his disposal Mourinho should have been more positive. He stopped the rut with the league draw, gained momentum with the Cup win never kicked on in the game last night. Mourinho can take credit for the defensive set-up (even if I do think he played with fire) but he needs to be held to account for Real Madrids complete lack of direction going forward.
It’s also quite ironic that when we talk about stronger benches it was Barcelona’s substitution that made the difference.
I noticed this too and thought it was brilliant. People complain that Barca only pass sideways yet if Madrid have the entire team in their own half, why not sit back and just maintain possession? Barca weren’t in need of a goal and so they were content to sit back patiently, something they didn’t do against Arsenal but should have after they went up a goal at the Emirates. Instead, they keep possessing high up the pitch and gave Arsenal the chances to counter and ended up losing 2-1. Pep is finally learning that you can’t get counter attacked if you don’t attack!
Great post. Barcelona definitely started slowly last night and for the very reasons you stated. I wonder if the result had been different had it stayed 11 vs 11? Kaka looked ready to come on and surely would have helped Madrid take the game to Barca. Wasn’t a classic by any means but at list Messi added a touch of brilliance.
It wasn’t rocket science, but well done on predicting the line up. Shocking game, can’t wait for the after action report of the Battle of Madrid. Can we not just ban both teams from the competition? They were an embarrassment to the game.
As a barcelona fan, I agree with that.
Again, one of the clearest advantages of Barca’s playing style was – wait for it – Victor Valdes’ position as an auxiliary 11th outfield player. Valdes is as confident and able in possession as most of the players in front of him, meaning that when in possession Barca almost seem to have three centre-backs. And three players is just the right number for triangular passing patterns, which can then be built from the (very) back.
That’s very true. I wonder does Victor Valdes partake in the piggy in the middle sessions in training? I wouldn’t be surprised! I have noticed his long passes going astray at times but his short game really compliments the Barca style. Has to be one of the most improved players in that Barca team. When you think back to how erratic he was in his early days it’s amazing to think he has come this far.
Very clever by Pep,basically if Barca don’t attack much, Real can barely counter attack.Therefore frustrating Real.
Great to see Guardiola call Mourinho’s bluff. Been waiting years for a top side to do this.
Madrid weren’t planning to be particularly offensive during the first 70 or so minutes, according to Ronaldo, Mourinho and such, which ultimately seemed a reasonable plan. In that case, one does not frustrate an opponent by not attacking them hard when they do not want to be attacked hard. In any case, though, Barcelona haven’t been particularly offensive against Real in the previous few matches either.
I have to disagree with you there. What Barcelona did was highlight to the Real Madrid fans that their team had no intention of attacking. You may be a bit more pragmatic in your thinking but it was a great tactic to quieten the crowd.
I’m sure it was Mourinho’s intention before the game to hold out for a late onslaught when Barcelona were tired and frustrated. This change in style meant that both Barcelona and Madrid would be fresh late on in the game and it was Madrid who got frustrated.
I think for a professional footballer as good as Ronaldo or Alsono it is acceptable to dig-in against wave after wave of attack and try to play on the counter. I doubt that they were so happy though to sit-back in front of their own fans and allow the other team to ping the ball around unchallenged.
The benefit of this tactic was not in disrupting Real Madrids gameplan. They could have continued to sit back and wait for the last 20 minutes. The benefit was in the way it affected the Madrid players mindset. It was no longer a game where they needed to defend at all cost and you could see that they lost the pshychological initiative gained over the last 2 games. They either had to swallow their pride and stick to the plan or break rank and go at Barcelona.
If you give credit to Mourinho for his man management and his ability create a siege mentality then you equally must give credit to Guardiola because he clearly disrupted that mentality last night.
Mouinho opted to stick to defensive tactics and it was apparent that some of his team were not content and neither were the fans with this choice. He persisted until half time at which point Madrid finally pressured a bit more up field. This created the space that Barca thrive on and Messi did his magic.
Pep made the right choice in not stretching his team unnecessarily and you could tell it took some discipline as Barca are so attacking-prone. Pep also wisely kept Alves back for large periods to contain Di Maria. And of course Puyol following Ronaldo rendered him useless for most of the match. Not only did Pep gain a 2 goal away advantage, but he now he plays at the Nou Camp where Madrid will be forced to attack or exit the champion’s league. Ironically, by avoiding attack, Madrid are now forced into it. Will we see Barca’s ability to counter-attack?
Pepe the destroyer played poorly this match. ZM and numerous others hailed him as one of Mou’s revelations yet when he would finally win possession he would kick it out of bounds or too far ahead of the forwards. Madrid were better off without him. Lass was also disappointing.
You can tell Pep instructed Pique not to go on his reckless runs into RM’s half. Once it looked like he was about to and then remembered to hold his position and laid it off.
Pepe is absolutely terrible with the ball at this feet. He just panics. Who would have thought he’d be playing MF ahead of Kaka in a CL semifinal.
Oh.. was he terrible ? In the match I saw, it was Pedro, Alves and Busquets who were terrible, playacting worthy of an Oscar performace.. Disgusting footballers in the so called team of the generation. Pepe did nothing but to challenge for a 50-50 ball and even got a touch with the ball. The referee was awful to let the Barcelona players pressure get to him and gave a straight Red.
After that, it was all over. Messi didnt have a marker anymore and had fun.. Thats what Barca want, space to exploit. Since Madrid didnt give it to them, they acted like kids and got one player sent off to get that space. Madrid dont have the attitude of Inter and couldnt defend after that.
People have been saying Barca dont have plan B tactics. But all along, they have had a plan B and that is to act and influence referees. Disgusting that it works everytime for them. If there is some justice left, this arrogant team should not win the trophy.
Complaining about play-acting on either side doesn’t really hold much water. It’s “six and two threes”, as David Pleat would say. The reason Barcelona won this match was that they learnt from Madrid’s approach in the first two encounters (league and Copa del Rey Final), and adapted their positioning, movement and tempo to overcome it.
Is it ? I would appreciate your words had they won with 11 men on the pitch. Where was Messi when Pepe was around ?
Madrid players also dive and get free kicks. But barcelona took it to the extreme and tried to get as many bookings as possible. They did it against Arsenal, they did it last year, they again did it. Discussing tactics without considering unequal number of players is not fair.
There was stalemate by the first half and both managers were happy. Madrid were more positive in the second half and Kaka and Granero were waiting to come on. Barca spotted that and did what they do best, act and surround referee for the umpteenth time. Great result for them. Only thing is that they are digusting with their attitude..
It was coming, isnt’t it ? Frustrated with the first 2 games, Barcelona needed something to put Madird on the backfoot. Apparently Madird didnt play at all in the first half. When they were more positive in the second, Barca started to show their non-football skills. Diving, threatening referee, getting opponents booked..
Why cant UEFA take action against creatures like Busquets and Pedro for willful diving and attempts to misguide the referee after the match with so much of video evidence ?
Regarding tactics, I think Mourinho should not have started with Ozil wih that kind of plan in the first half. He could have brought him in the second half like in the first game. Khedira was sorely missed as Lass was not upto the mark and he rarely venured forward.
Once Pepe was out, Messi had all the time and space to exploit which he did well. Watching the two goals, I wonder what would have happened if Neuer was there in his tuesday form. It was a brilliant run, but Casillas was not ready to come up..
Well we’re in the realm of theory when talking about possible substitutions that didn’t happen, how Real would have played the remainder of the game if one of their number hadn’t been dismissed, etc.
I actually thought they played better and more positively *after they had gone down to ten men* in the recent league encounter – I wonder why there was no such comeback yesterday…
Yeah, it was the right choice by Pep but one nobody saw coming. He is usually quite puritanical about the way the team plays but it’s nice to see him be a bit pragmatic for once.
I think Mourinho actually forced him to re-think his tactics for emotional as well as footballing reasons. Guardiola was clearly furious with Mourinho’s comments over the year and I think he would have done anything to win this tie. In the end it was a very clever switch in style that turned the spotlight on the way the Madrid team was setup in front of their home support. No player wants to be embarrassed and especially not at the level of Real Madrid. The way Barca played did 2 things to Madrid:
1) Stopped Real having any chance of a counter-attack which they were set-up for
2) Stopped the crowd from getting behind them and hailing a brave defensive performance
They highlighted the fact that Real did not want to attack and this picked away at the players pride.
On your other point I think Pepe, in the last 2 encounters, had been judged purely on his ability to break up Barcelona’s game. Again, with Barcelona sitting back with the ball it starved Madrid of both possession and the comfort and strength a team gets from holding off an onslaught. In these circumstances every ball won by Madrid needed to be used effectively and this isn’t Pepe’s game. When he won the ball he tried to ping it forward but with no counter-attacking options available he pinged it out for a throw more often then not.
Because of the Barcelona tactics last night Pepe looked like what he is:
A centre-back playing in midfield…
Barcelona more than deserved the win for their positive attitude. Very smart and solid game from the team. Apart from last 5 minutes of the 1st half, they avoided to get into too many discussions. Very mature game. Luckily for football, the easy tactics of parking the bus isn’t rewarded every game.
And despite Mourinho saying it’s over, it’s only 0-2… So FFS man, you have the most expensive squad in football history, including a bench with top attackers like Kaka, Adebayor, Higuain and Benzema, so don’t come telling us a two-goal margin is impossible to turn around. Stop moaning and start working on some plan.
PS. There’s always very, very little footall in semi-finals of the CL, it seems. Especially when two top teams meet. Someone should make an overview of the semis of the last years. There’s so much at stake.
They didn’t win as a result of their ‘positive attitude’, and as such they did not ‘deserve the win’ because of it. In any case, neither side won tactically, as Madrid at least were unable to enact the totality of their match strategy, which involved attacking in the last 20 minutes. Whether that would or would not have worked is still up in the air, although their tactics prior to that, namely of keeping Barcelona out of their own goal, did generally end up working (which, I suppose, constitutes ‘being rewarded’). Mourinho, at least, is still learning from the last encounters the abilities and limitations of the side, and it was evident that if they played the same way as in the last game, they would have to again calm down to save stamina, which could be problematic, and also allows Barcelona the advantage of being able to take advantage of the second half with offensive substitutions and such. The fact that doing effectively the opposite of that may have been an interesting idea was generally lost in the silly bickering between partisans of the two teams, where most discussions actually about tactics devolved into some kind of bizarre ethical debate about skin-deep aestheticism.
I found the game very intruiging. In the first half watching Real Madrid’s press was bery instructive. Pepe acted as a sort of “captain of the press,” he was the trigger that everyone seemed to work off.
Barca keeping pedro and villa extremely wide was also another intresting point. I personally didn’t think that pedro had one of his better games and it was no suprise to me when Affelay beat Marcelo to create the first goal. As well as he has played this season like many full backs Marcelo can look weak defensivley at times.
I think Guardiola deserves a lot of credit for his tactics on the night and I have to say I loved his pre match press conference “If he says: ‘Pep,’ I say: ‘Hey, José.’” brilliant.
Watch Guardiola come out and play his key players 90′ against Real Sociedad now. Rolls eyes.
Madrid fans whining about play-acting while they have the absolute top divers Ronaldo and Di Maria in their ranks. Entertaining.
Pepe’s reckless tackle was something between yellow and red, you can give both. Referee was courageous to pull the red in front of the home crowd and Mourinho. Biggest miracle is that Pepe survived 270 minutes of clasico without seeing this inevitable card. Sergio Ramos (hand ball after 5 minutes which would have been his first yellow), Adebayor (punching Busquets in the face) and Marcelo (double-tripping pedro who was down) all were very lucky not to be sent-off. Referee started compensating after the red.
As Pique said very rightly: if you play on the limit of violence, this can happen, if you play with fire, you’ll end up burning yourself. And – we add – when you get burnt, some deal with the pain and try to avoid the same thing from happening next time, others start crying, blame others and make the same mistake over and over again.
Madrid was outplayed at all levels. Mourinho for some reason left the cup final tactics and went back to the cowardly parking of his 400 billion bus. Let’s be happy that doesn’t always work. Football would be too boring if the Benitez’s, Ancelotti’s, Mourinho’s or Otto Rehhagel’s of this world always won.
Here comes the holier than thou barca preacher.. Watch the replays morons.. Pepe touched the ball and Alves made a meal of it.. referee was not courageous, but awful and gave in to barca crybabies.. Even Van Bommel would look like a good guy infront of the cynical Barca crybabies.. Biscuits, Pedro, Alves all would be called Villains if they had played for Mourinho.. Just because they play for the so called best team, they have become victims..
No one is denying that some Barca players (not all) reacted poorly. But at the same time, some Madrid players behaved poorly (again, not all).
Hence my earlier comment about it being much of a muchness. Let’s not emotions cloud our judgement, eh. This site is about tactics, and it is still possible to win a game when you’re down to 10 men…
It probably takes a cynical crybaby to recognize one… Next season Olegario will lead his friend Mourinho again to a CL win, don’t worry. You win some, you lose some.
Every team in the world has some actors on board. Don’t understand why some want to be holier than thou in this aspect because one day it’ll back-fire in your face anyway. Best team won, simple. All the rest are sour grapes from bad losers.
But the crybabies want to win everything because they call themselves the best. They have been helped by he referees for the past 3 years in big matches in CL, no doubt. In every important game, they have managed to play against 10 men. Still, they couldnt win last year. If there is some pride left in them, they’ll atleast not do more dramatics in the second leg. But given their past, i doubt it.
Watch the replay live as the ref did rather than 20x in slow motion. It looks like a red. A mistake was made but hardly a corrupt one.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xig3kz_real-madrid-v-barcelona_sport
Biscuits, Pedro, Alves are villains as are Di Maria, CR, and Marcelo. The Barca players are more ridiculous with their face grabbing but RM take the cake when it comes to cynical play with intent to injure.
The truth is, both teams had a horribly unfair attitude. It was just a disgrace to see this as a neutral spectator. Yes, Pedro, Busquets and Alves should all have seen an additional yellow for their Hollywood contributions. But Adebayor and Marcelo could have been sent off aswell. In general, what pissed me off most was the constant lamenting and complaining and asking for bookings of virtually all 22 players at each possible whistle of the ref. It is completely insane, it took up to a minute sometimes before the game could be continued. Fifa/Uefa should do something about that. I think only the captain of each team should be allowed to talk to the ref, as it is in Rugby. Would reduce the amount of b*shit one has to see each match.
Since when does getting a man sent off determine an outcome? There might be some special players where that’s the case, but Pepe? Despite of what people are saying, he basically played role of hustler — hardly irreplaceable. Lass was capable of doing the same if Mou had added another midfielder. Mou lost the plot and neglected to do anything. He should have subbed out Adebayor for Kaka or Granero to prevent Barca from eating up the empty space in MF.
The advantage of being up a man is very overrated. Look at the statistics. Zonalmarking should do an article on that. Inter manged against Barca last season for much longer. Barca managed against Chelsea the other year. Happens all the time. Mou let the hubbub mess with his brain
Also true. Mourinho very badly handled the sending off this time. In the league game they did well and came back from 0-1 down. With a non-existing penalty, but still. Then they played better with 10 than with 11 after a clever intervention of Mourinho that confused Barcelona. When you play like his team plays, you need to be prepared for this. You can’t be that innocent to expect that Pepe will get away every game.
So, if he had subbed Adebayor for Kaka, who will be there as forward ? And whats the use in having only midfield full with no outlet ? Inter managed last year because they were 3-1 up. Not when the score is 0-0 and in the 1st leg.
What happened after Pepe was sent off was there is no one to track Messi. If Lass was asked to do that, then other midfielders will be left free. Thats the problem and it would not have been solved by bringing in Kaka.
Agree with the last comment, I seem to remember Mourinho saying Inter were happy to play with 10 men against Barca last season as they were able to play in a more disciplined fashion.
Both Mourinho (ever since he was at Porto) and Guardiola have their players go to ground easily, but I think (and remember this is a tactics blog) that Guardiola really did a number on Mourinho this time. He knew that Mourinho would have his players look to put huge physical pressure on Barca when they had the ball so he had his players go down every time Madrid’s ballwinners came in on them. Ultimately, it worked, Pepe got sent off.
What depressed me most was Mourinho’s Man City-esque defensive approach. Yes, I can understand shutting up shop in the Nou Camp, but remember Barca aren’t brilliant away in Europe (lost to Arsenal, drew with Ruben Kazen) surely Mourinho had the attacking players to cause them real (no pun intended) problems, especially with Mascherano at centre half and Puyol playing left back?
Man City is just awful to watch.
Puyol is barely fit. Masch is playing is 4th career game at CB. RM’s only chances all games were a couple of longshots from CR and set pieces (the most dangerous earned from a dive). Big contrast compared to how they played in the 1st half of CDR.