On his first visit to the Bernabeu in his coaching career, Xavi made Real Madrid fans feel the fear of being dominated by Barca. With a 4-0 victory over Real Madrid, Barca are finally back to life.
6 winless games in 3 years
Prior to the second leg at the Bernabeu, Barca had been unable to beat Real Madrid for 3 years. On 2 March 2019, Barca beat Real Madrid 1-0 at the Bernabeu, the last time Barca won a national derby.
In the next six games, Barca have only achieved 1 draw and 5 defeats, and the last 5 have all lost, including the first national derby of Xavi's coaching career. In the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup on 12 January, Barca lost 2-3.
However, under Xavi's careful tuning, Barca have gradually got on the right track, and since successive defeats to Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao in January, Barça have remained unbeaten in the last 11 matches, with a record of 9 wins and 3 draws.
Even with a victory over Real Madrid, Barca will not be able to compete for the La Liga title. However, the battle still has important implications. According to the Daily Sports newspaper, "This Barca team is more mature and closer to Xavi's goals, and Xavi has fully realized that his players are ready." Victory over Real Madrid will boost Barca's morale, which is crucial for what comes next. ”
Harvey's brave choice
In the choice of starting lineup, the different ideas of Xavi and Ancelotti are clearly shown. Benzema was absent due to injury, and although mariano, Jovic, Bale, Asensio, Hazard and other options were available, Ancelotti chose to change the squad to 442, allowing Vinicius and Rodrigo to form a double forward, and Valverde was added in midfield.
Instead, Harvey was braver, allowing Dembele, Aubameyang, and Ferran Torres to form a trident. In the defensive line, Harvey unexpectedly did not let Alves start, but sent Araujo, with the goal of curbing Vinicius' speed.
Boehner, a reporter for the Daily Sports, pointed out that "Harvey's tactics are braver and more aggressive than Ancelotti's. Ass editor-in-chief Santi Gimenez also said, "The choice between the two is like two poles, Harvey's tactics are surprising, he chose to continue to control the ball, trying to get close to the opponent's penalty area, while always 1 to contain Vinicius." ”
The feeling of being dominated by Barca is back
Opting for a more attacking line-up, Xavi aims to beat Real Madrid away from home like Guardiola did. The first visit to the Bernabeu, Guardiola led the team to a 6-2 victory over Real Madrid, Henry and Messi both scored twice, puyol and Pique each scored a goal. More importantly, Guardiola's genius made Messi switch to a pseudo-center, thus opening a new era.
Xavi's "gamble" also paid off, with Dembele constantly creating threats on the right, delivering an assist to Aubameyang in the 30th minute after forcibly breaking through Nacho. In fact, if it weren't for Aubameyang and Ferran Torres's repeated opportunities, Barca would have taken the lead long ago.
In the first 30 minutes, Barca had 61% possession, 3 shots on target in 6 shots, 2 good chances to score, and the goal was reasonable. On the contrary, Real Madrid, which only had four shots on goal, did not even create a good chance to score.
Just eight minutes later, Dembele took a corner kick and provided an assist for Araujo. After assisting the double cannon, Dembele delivered five assists in the national derby, and he became the first Barça player to deliver two assists in the first half of the national derby since Xavi in 2009, 6-2.
On the right, Xavi's dembele and Araujo duo played a key role, delivering assists twice and scoring with a header.
After missing a one-handed chance at the beginning of the second half, Ferran Torres finally seized the opportunity to score. The key penalty made by the video assistant referee allowed Aubameyang to complete the double shot.
The last time Barca scored four goals away from home in the national derby was in October 2015. In other words, it was the most goals real madrid had conceded at home in the national derby in seven years. After Barca scored their fourth goal, Real Madrid fans began to exit in the 53rd minute.
Barca is finally resurrected
While continuing the unbeaten record in 13 games, Xavi helped Barca break the curse of 6 winless games in 3 years. What's more, Barca have always had a firm grip on the initiative, in stark contrast to the first leg of the season and the previous two seasons.
A Barca who are good at ball possession, a Barca who take the initiative in the national derby, Xavi's return has restored Barca to glory.
Ahead of the national derby, Ass correspondent Juan Jimenez noted that "after Lisbon's 2-8 defeat to Bayern, Barca have been in the shadows. After Xavi took charge, he has been trying to help Barca recover. However, anyone at Barca knows that unless you beat Real Madrid, you won't recover. ”
With a convincing victory over Real Madrid, Barca have made a complete "recovery" in the hands of Xavi.