If you don't buy the narrative in which president Florentino Perez is exerting undue influence on Rafa Benitez, a lot of the blame must then fall on the manager. The rest had plenty of time to prepare for the game. Of the 13 players who took the pitch, only two (Raphael Varane and James Rodriguez) were away on international duty. Maybe with the fact that there are no excuses. Many people to blame for Real Madrid's capitulation With a six-point lead in La Liga, a return leg at the Camp Nou and a relatively soft fixture list for the next two months (the one exception, possibly, the trip to Valencia), Messi can now be eased back into a Barca side that appears to have banished the "Messi-dependent" tag once and for all. This was a team performance made possible by Luis Enrique's scheme and the work done on the training pitch. But that would also mean selling them short. It's easy to point to Madrid's shortcomings, easier still to simply explain Barca's dominance through the lens of their individual talent. Barcelona were simply exceptional at the Bernabeu as Luis Enrique's scheme was put into devastating use. They were blue-collar superstars on the day, while Iniesta turned back the clock, dispensing assists and magic at every turn. Suarez and Neymar didn't just continue their scoring spree, they moved and created with a combination of selflessness and intelligence that was in stark contrast to what was happening on the opposite front. Instead of Munir or Sandro, Sergi Roberto became the third prong in attack with Neymar and Luis Suarez, while Andres Iniesta filled a playmaking role on the center left.īarca were devastating - the 4-0 win doesn't fully reflect their superiority on the day. Not only that, he also reworked his personnel. Barca had been flying without their best player and they would keep flying him without him, at least for a little while. Instead Luis Enrique showed courage and character in putting him on the bench, bringing him on early in the second half. Should anything go wrong, you wouldn't really need him anyway for another couple of weeks. After all, Barca's next fixtures are a virtually meaningless UCL group game against Roma at the Camp Nou, the visit of Real Sociedad and another home date against third-tier Vilanovense. Playing it safe would likely have meant playing him from the start. it nearly derailed Luis Enrique's tenure. You remember, don't you? The defeat at Real Sociedad, the sudden stomachache, the supposed emergency talks. Then there's what happened the last time Messi was left out. He hadn't played in nearly two months and by all accounts had worked well on his fitness over the international break. Hindsight is always 20/20 but you would have assumed that Lionel Messi would have been foaming at the mouth to get on the pitch from the very first minute. We'll get to that, but first it's worth putting some of what Barcelona achieved Saturday into context. And make no mistake about it, plenty did go wrong for Real Madrid. When you witness such a lopsided Clasico, the focus inevitably shifts to what went wrong for the loser.
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