Barça lacking rhythm fall to painful clásico defeat

FC Barcelona struggled to find rhythm during Sunday afternoon’s clásico defeat to Real Madrid, ending the Catalans’ run of four straight victories over their eternal rivals.

The final score, 2-1, suggested a tight affair, but Barça were, in truth, second best by a significant distance for most of the match, and Madrid had plenty of chances to pull out of sight, including a penalty that was well saved by Wojciech Szczęsny. 

Midfielder Pedri was shown a red card in one of the last actions of the game, in an incident that could serve as a microcosm of the whole game: Barça, losing and not in control of play, trying to rebel against the tide but clumsily executing their comeback attempt and paying a price. 

Before the hosts’ opener, they had already had a penalty and a goal overturned; each correct decisions, but also indicative of a pattern of play that was set from early on and sustained. 

The blaugrana tried to push their defensive line high up and catch Madrid offside as much as possible, a trademark of Hansi Flick’s style of play that produced many exhilarating games and moments last year. But in the Bernabéu, Barça’s issues that have plagued them all season were thrown under a magnifying glass. 

In the back line, timing was off, and disorganization reigned. The spritely Kylian Mbappé found himself breaking through time and time again, and punished the champions early with a neat finish. 

Up front, Rashford, Ferran, Fermín, and Yamal lacked connection and created very little, while Pedri and De Jong couldn’t ever stamp their authority in the middle. 

In injury time, centre back Ronald Araújo lumbered to dribble the ball out of play, wasting one of Barça’s last visits to the Madrid box. 

The Barcelona goal, scored by Fermín to equalize in the first half, came totally against the run of play. Despite how the first half had gone, to be level could have left Madrid bitterly ruing their missed chances and open a door for the Catalans to build on something in the second half. 

The optimism didn’t last long, as Madrid capitalized on disarray in the Barça backline and restored their lead. 

The defeat will be a painful one for Flick, who will see many areas of the team that can be improved on.

Forward players such as Raphinha and Lewandowski returning from injury will be a welcome boost, as well as Lamine Yamal finding full fitness following his own recent injury worries. 

Yet perhaps even more importantly, whichever central defensive pairing among Pau Cubarsí, Eric García, and Ronald Araújo will have to find a new leader for the offside trap timing, provided last season by the now-departed Íñigo Martínez, that is so key to how Flick wants to build this Barcelona team.