Hansi Flick’s team took the Santiago Bernabéu by storm. With a very effective second half, the culé team beat the meringues 4-0. A double from Lewandowski paved the way for victory for the Spanish championship leader.
The world’s great classic was dyed blue. The eleventh day of La Liga presented one of the unmissable events to support everything, since it was a train wreck in the imposing and modern Santiago Bernabéu stadium: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona . The culé team beat the home team by winning 4-0 as visitors, a difference based on a very effective second half.
Although it is a match that carries weight in its own right, due to the lineage of each team’s shields and figures, on this occasion there was a different expectation. One of the reasons was linked to the good present of the two, arriving at the classic after two victories in the Champions League against German clubs. While the Meringues beat Borussia Dortmund 5-2, the Catalans beat Bayern Munich 4-1. Another reason was related to some beginnings in this type of commitment: Kylian Mbappé, at the White House, and coach Hansi Flick, at the culé store.
While Barça’s German coach maintained the structure he had brought (with the Lamine Yamal-Fermín-Raphinha trident behind Lewandowski), Carlo Ancelotti acted on Jude Bellingham. Instead of being the point of a diamond or a false 9, the Englishman positioned himself as a right midfielder in Madrid’s 4-4-2, with an essentially defensive vocation. Above, pure vertigo with Mbappé and Vinícius.
Until the half-hour mark, the Spanish classic was an ode to intensity. It was a very vertical match, with a dizzying pace, but it lacked the finesse in the final meters to translate that into goals. If Raphinha missed it on one side, in the 21st minute, Vinícius missed the opening in the next minute, making a mistake in the definition.
In the 30′ the score was 1-0 thanks to Mbappé, who received the pass and defined in an excellent way, sending the ball to goalkeeper Iñaki Peña. The French star celebrated with all that was her first score in the classic. However, everything was canceled due to an offside by the former PSG player. This is a tool widely used by the Barça defense: the four defenders advance to form the line and move back. offside again and again to the meringues forward. This is what happened with Mbappé.
Lewandowski appeared
Both in the latter part of the first half and at the start of the match, the pace of the match decreased. The previous physical effort was heavy. A window opened for Barcelona and they took full advantage of it. A series of two goals in a few minutes allowed the Catalans to make the score 2-0, silencing the Santiago Bernabéu.
The man of the hour was Robert Lewandowski. Although the Pole did not enter the offensive circuit of the culés as much, his work as a finisher was carried out successfully. In the 54th minute, the former Bayern striker won alone and with an enviable hierarchy, with a tight shot after an assist from Marc Casadó. The Frenchman Mendy allowed the action. Real Madrid could not react from the first blow and received the second.
At 56′, Lewandowski again. This time it came with a superb header, connecting with a cross from Balde. The Pole scored 14 goals in La Liga, becoming the championship’s top scorer. Doubling from 9 to lead to a relevant and justified victory, especially in the second half. And Lewandowski could have perfectly increased his goal quota, but he failed.
To crown the triumph, Lamine Yamal could not miss. The teenage prodigy made it 3-0 in the 77th minute, thanks to a powerful strike which dispersed the Ukrainian goalkeeper Lunin (replacing Courtois). But there was more, because In the 84th minute, Barça scored the fourth goal, a goal from Raphinha from direct play. who ended up sending the ball to the home goalkeeper. The meringues gave everything to defend themselves and paid dearly for it.
With this similar victory, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona confirms itself as leader of the Spanish championship with 30 points, six more than second place Madrid.
Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
