3 Talking Points (Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona): Is This Really Europe’s Best Defence?

Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona

Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Karim Benzema were enough for Real Madrid to beat Barcelona 3-1 and move to within a point of the Catalan club at the top of the table. Barcelona dominated the early possession and deservedly took the lead through Neymar, but that was really the only time that the visitors were able to maintain a sustained period of pressure as the home side came from behind to inflict Luis Enrique’s first League defeat as a Barcelona manager.

Here are the major talking points from the game.

1. Luis Enrique gets his tactics all wrong

After the 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid, which could have been much worse for the Catalans, Luis Enrique said “We didn’t deserve any more”. One of the main reasons why the League leaders were so comprehensively beaten was because of the manager himself. Right from the start, Enrique got his tactics wrong. Starting Luis Suarez, a player who hasn’t kicked a ball in anger in almost four months in a game of such magnitude was akin to asking a man who had just learnt how to walk to cross the highway. Although the Uruguayan assisted Neymar’s goal, he did precious little for the rest of the game.

If starting Suarez on the right wing was bad, his decision to start Jeremy Mathieu at left back was even worse. The Frenchman gave the ball away far too many times and didn’t have the pace necessary to play the role effectively. While he may have played players out of position, the biggest problem was that the Catalan coach was trying to play a 4-3-3 with three midfielders, none of whom are renowned for their defensive prowess and three strikers who didn’t track back. The personnel at his disposal meant that it was always going to be difficult but the worry for the Catalans is that even when he was given the opportunity to change things, he fluffed his lines.

2. Is this really Europe’s best defence?

This was billed as the clash of Europe’s best attack against Europe’s best defence. On paper at least, this was a clash between the unstoppable force that scored 30 goals in nine games and the immovable object which hadn’t conceded any goals in the League so far. But the ease with which Real Madrid carved the visitors open proved that  their defensive record was more down to their opponents being poor in front of goal, rather than them being particularly resolute.

Every time Barcelona relinquished possession, the home side looked dangerous on the counter attack. Although it was only 3-1, that was more down to profligate finishing on the part of Los Blancos rather than it being a solid defensive effort by the League leaders. In fact, aside from Javier Mascherano and Claudio Bravo, no one else looked comfortable in defence. The fact that none of the attackers pressed high up the pitch and there were defenders playing out of position didn’t help. but the simple fact is that the current Catalan defence is no better than the one from last season and their defensive record was one of those curious statistics, that wrongly makes them look good.

3. Benzema starting to grow in stature

Although he was bought for big money in 2009, in the same window Cristiano Ronaldo was,  there is a sense that Karim Benzema hasn’t always felt wanted at the Santiago Bernabeu. He was often the scapegoat for the fans, who wanted to lash out their frustration at the players. The Frenchman also didn’t have a particularly great understanding with all of the coaches who have been in charge since then. But it is finally looking as though the winds of change are blowing through.

With his goal in the Clasico, the 26-year-old now has six goals from his last four games, on the back of a slow start to the season that saw him score only two goals in his opening nine games of the season for the club. While goals aren’t really a problem, when you have Ronaldo in your team, what is really nice to see is that Benzema is linking up well with the likes of Ronaldo and Bale and has been very much involved in the game, whether it is tracking back, scoring goals or creating assists. Finally, perhaps for the first time since his arrival at the club, the Frenchman feels loved and that can only be a good thing.