El Clasico has delivered once again and the reactions that have trailed the April 5, 2023 edition of the biggest football match in the world have trickled down since then.
Xavi Hernandez will count this loss as a total defeat as he and his side had no answer to Carlo Ancelotti, whom he had beaten for three straight Clasicos. His record as a manager in the tie remains impeccable, however, as this was just his third defeat in eight Clasicos (or third in seven if you discount the warm-up game played in the USA during pre-season).
This one also happened to be the heaviest Clasico defeat he had suffered in his career as Barcelona manager. It is a loss that has left many fans confused because his side had the upper hand in the first half. The half eventually ended 1 – 0 in favour of hosts Real Madrid thanks to Vinicius Jr‘s goal in added time.
Barcelona would lose all drive and purpose following that goal, and Karim Benzema would outshine Robert Lewandowski in the battle of the star strikers to score a hat-trick in the second half to knock Barcelona out of the Copa del Rey.
This result will please the neutral fans as it means both teams have dealt significant blows to each other in the cup competitions in one season. Barcelona beat Madrid to win the Spanish Super Cup earlier in the season and now, have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey.
The loss was evident of their haunting by ghosts of second legs past. AS Roma, Liverpool, Eintracht Frankfurt and most recently Manchester United come to mind. All losses happened after Barcelona had the upper hand or finished the first leg with favourable results.
Injuries to key players also played a big role in the team’s capitulation to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Catalans were without Frenkie De Jong, Andreas Christensen, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele, leaving them with a thin squad which includes players like Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres who have dealt with confidence issues all season.
It showed how much of an update Barcelona’s squad needs as the summer transfer window approaches. Their financial situation may prove to be a bottleneck for the achievement of this goal. Regardless, the club needs players who they can count on off the bench in big games like these.
They will now turn their attention to LaLiga, where they are 12 points ahead of Los Blancos.
Napoli are set to face an uphill battle to keep their star defender, South Korea International Kim Min-jae who has been targeted by the heavy hitters of the Premier League for a summer move.
