FC Barcelona has been unstoppable to begin the new season. Hansi Flick’s squad, chock-full of World Cup winners, began its campaign with 11 consecutive victories across domestic and continental competitions. However, Barca’s matchup with the two-time defending European champions in Paris in midweek suggested that its dominance was inflated by an easy schedule (4.4 goals per game, four clean sheets). The Camp Nou, still not able to be filled to capacity during the ongoing renovation, has been an abattoir, with Barcelona scoring 22 goals in five games at home.
For Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho’s return to the Spanish capital has featured a couple of stumbles, including a 2-1 defeat to Atletico in the Madrid derby, but they enter the Clasico only six points behind in the title race. No matter their manager, Los Blancos maintain their institutional habit of staging dramatic comebacks and nabbing late winners.11 21-year-old forward Carlos scored a crucial goal in Madrid’s three-goal comeback in the last 10 minutes against Roma in the Champions League, and scored the stoppage-time winner in what would have been a disappointing draw against Elche.
There’s no denying that Spain’s World Cup triumph, with a squad devoid of Madrid players (Marc Cucurella was technically still a Chelsea player during the tournament), coupled with Yamal’s ascent as the most spectacular star into football’s post-Messi vacuum, gives this matchup a strange energy. Real Madrid are never the underdogs, but Mourinho can spin a narrative like Messi can spin a defender, and it isn’t wrong to say Barcelona entered this Clasico as the more imposing team.
Starting XIs
Barcelona4-3-3Manager: Hansi Flick
Real Madrid4-2-3-1Manager: Jose MourinhoSubstitutes
- 24 Dumfries
- 6 Camavinga
- 12 Alexander-Arnold
- 19 Espi
Pep Guardiola, proving himself tactically precise on the pitch and off, appears to have boarded the last lifeboat off the Titanic. Manchester City faces potential relegation and financial sanctions that will surely hinder Enzo Maresca’s side in ways that will prove insurmountable for any manager, even Pep.
Guardiola was not the only one to hop on board, though. Rodri and Bernardo Silva, two of Pep’s best purchases at City, both departed this offseason as well. They wound up on either side of the Clasico, but based on their form to start the season, they do not appear fit for this level. Silva, whose role with Portugal has also started to erode concurrent with the ascent of Vitinha and João Neves, hasn’t made much of an impact at Madrid. He featured for fewer than 90 minutes in Man City’s Round of 16 tie with Madrid last season and didn’t start at all at the World Cup. But with Federico Valverde shifting to right back here, Silva gets his biggest start at Madrid, and he looks far from the player he was at the peak of his City career.
Rodri, on the other hand, played an instrumental role in Spain’s World Cup triumph this summer (though his winning the Golden Ball instead of Lionel Messi remains a massive mistake), so Barcelona believed it was signing the closest thing the club has had to a Sergio Busquets replacement since 2023. But even Busquets might be an awkward fit in this current Barca side. Not only are top-tier opponents like PSG and Madrid, with their expeditious attacking triumvirates, much more capable of blowing past Barcelona’s midfield, but Flick’s tactical identity is also in opposition to Rodri’s profile. Given Barcelona’s suicidally high line and dynamic front three, a plodding 6 who can’t really cover ground and slows down attacks in pursuit of “control” doesn’t do much good. This isn’t Spain or City. Flick wants his team flying on the counter and relentless with its press. This style cannot accommodate a player like Rodri.
Dani Olmo’s injury in midweek against PSG made Flick’s choice of third midfielder for him. Olmo typically plays as a 10 ahead of Rodri and Pedri in a 4-2-3-1, but with Fermin Lopez in his place, Barcelona seem to have settled into a 4-3-3, with Fermin operating as the right center mid. Fermin is probably my favorite player in the squad, showcasing a delectable craft with the ball and a fantastic eye for goal. He contributed 13 goals and 17 assists in all competitions last season and led La Liga in assists per 90 at 0.45. Such a skillful player no matter where he is on the pitch.
“OH SATURDAY! You are simply glorious!” This game is being broadcast on ABC, which means this is a perfect opportunity for some in-game ads that share the screen with the game action. I guess I would prefer water breaks to this jump scare.
Mbappe, 1-0 Madrid. The goal itself is so pitiful that it is humorous, as the ball deflects into the back of the net off an unsuspecting Mbappe, but it isn’t exactly undeserved. Madrid have come to the Camp Nou with a well-tailored attacking plan, one that punishes Barcelona’s high line and Yamal’s lack of defensive contribution. On several occasions, Madrid tilted Barcelona’s backline heavily to the right side of the pitch, putting Mbappe and Diomande on the blindside of Cubarsi and Cancelo — and allowing Cucurella to venture up the pitch unmarked.
As a center forward, Mbappe does his sharpest work in the inside channel that this quick switch of play opens up. As Barcelona’s defense quickly shuttles over from one touchline to the other, Diomande gets in behind Cancelo, which draws Cubarsi over, freeing the space for Mbappe. Barcelona could have easily gotten off the hook here with a better clearance from Martin, but the tactical arrangement of the goal is exactly as imagined. It should be noted that Rodri stood no chance keeping Mbappe from splitting the center halves.
At the break, Madrid have the lead and have never really looked like conceding. Barcelona’s season-long fireworks display has been reduced to a couple of flickers, with nothing particularly troubling for Andriy Lunin. Yamal will have to be better. Cucurella should have been booked for his myriad fouls, but he’s toed the line well enough and in addition to keeping Yamal from impacting the game with the ball, he is punishing him when Barcelona is without it. For all the plaudits Barcelona has received this season, it is staring at back-to-back defeats against its first real opponents of the season.
Raphinha, 1-1. Barcelona levels things up with a half hour to play after Pedri and Raphinha combine from a quickly taken free kick. It’s the first time Madrid have switched off all evening, which gives Pedri a half second to slice them apart with a beautifully disguised through ball to Raphinha, who matches his Pichichi rival on the scoresheet. Given the flukiness of Mbappe’s opening goal, this feels like a fair enough scoreline, but neither side has distanced itself from the other.
It’s sort of astonishing that Anthony Gordon lasted this long. Barca paid €70 million for the 25-year-old Englishman before the World Cup and I will admit I was nearly predisposed to hate him after he scored the opener for England in the semifinal against Argentina.22 Having paid $8,000 for a ticket to see Messi secure a place in the World Cup Final, I’m sure you can understand why. But for a team that has been scoring goals for fun, Gordon’s return has been relatively uninspiring. You could argue it is hard to stand out as the third wheel to the Raphinha and Yamal duo, but I’ve never seen anything from Gordon that justifies his price tag or his place at Barcelona.
Having said that, it’s not like Flick is spoiled for choice up top. The subs coming on for Gordon and Raphinha here are Gabriel Jesus and Karim Adeyemi, two bargain-bin buys whose arrivals speak more to Barcelona’s precarity than to their individual abilities. When the team is running riot against Elche and Santander, they might contribute a goal or two, but these are not players with a record of scoring, or even participating in, big matches.
Mbappe, 2-1 Madrid. The gap in quality between the two sides is evident here. Jesus’ horrible giveaway begets a sumptuous bit of skill from Jude Bellingham and sets off a break orchestrated by Eduardo Camavinga and Arda Guler. Camavinga’s fresh legs and willingness to run through the channels stick out in stark contrast to Silva’s more docile disposition. Guler’s pass is only topped by Camavinga’s perfect first touch to take Cubarsi out of the game. Camavinga then has the presence of mind to pull it back for his compatriot to knock home the winner.
Barcelona’s defense has been stretched all game. Were it not for Joan Garcia’s heroics as a sweeper throughout the match, Madrid might have put this game away well before the 87th minute.
Real Madrid 2, Barcelona 1. ¡Hay liga! Barcelona stormed out of the gates to start the season, but they’ve now crumbled in consecutive games against top opposition, and Los Blancos are now only three points behind in the table.33 Atletico Madrid sits in second, just two points behind, and hosts Barcelona on November 8. There’s a sense that Flick’s side is just banging its head against the wall attempting to execute a scheme that he doesn’t have the personnel for. Sure, Barcelona can turn over and embarrass the minnows of La Liga in entertaining fashion, but the other contenders for the Champions League crown are not as susceptible and often have stars who are far more dependable in adverse conditions than Yamal or Raphinha.
Madrid aren’t a perfect team, and I didn’t come away overly impressed with them from this match. But Mourinho got his tactics right for this one, ruthlessly exploiting Barcelona’s biggest weaknesses. Whether this performance would have been possible with Vinicius Jr. in the team is an interesting question; Diomande’s willingness to play a more complementary role to Mbappe without reservation will give Mourinho an intriguing selection decision once Vini’s suspension is up. For now, Madrid have thrust themselves back into the title race and dragged Barcelona down to earth in doing so.
