Despite the memorable victory that Real Madrid got over Borussia Dortmund in their UEFA Champions League tie last night, Barcelona are still the better side going into the El Clasico this Saturday.
Under Hansi Flick, the Blaugranes have been clearly the most dominant team in Spain. Hopefully, they will also prove their European credentials tonight with a win over Bayern Munich.
Still, the heated nature of El Clasico means that no team can rely on its form, and the coaches and players from both sides need to be at their best to get a win in the biggest game in football.
In this regard, SPORT notes that Hansi Flick can get some valuable lessons from the Merengues’ victory last night. The Germans were able to go into the half-time break with a 2-0 lead before Real Madrid scored five goals in the second half to get the victory.
Some tactical changes from Nuri Sahin have been attributed to the breakdown of the German team. But there was one particular weakness in Madrid’s game that the Black and Yellow team was able to exploit in the first half.
As has been the case throughout this season, Los Blancos struggled to apply orderly pressure on their opponents for a lengthy period of time in this game as well. Bellingham, who was tasked with pressuring the left-footed center-back, frequently left a lot of space empty in the midfield as he surged forward to press his man.
This allowed Felix Nmecha to get a lot of time on the ball, and thus start attacks against the men in white at his discretion. This weakness ultimately allowed Dortmund to get the two-goal lead in the first half, while also threatening their opponent’s goal at several other times.
Real Madrid can still work to avoid this issue in the upcoming game, but Barcelona and Flick will have their eyes open to take advantage of this weakness if it appears on Saturday.