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Spanish Inquisition: Barcelona & Madrid - Two Very Different 1-0 Wins
Goal.com's Ewan Macdonald compares and contrasts the big two clubs' results and performances at the weekend.
Apr 20, 2009 11:40:51 AM
This weekend saw both Barcelona and Real Madrid pick up three points from their respective matches, keeping the La Liga title race open for another week at the very least.
The Blancos thus remain just six points behind the Blaugrana at the summit of La Primera, but the points tell just half the story. In fact, if we look closer at the respective performances this weekend, we can see a bigger gulf.
Madrid's Narrow Win
Real Madrid's 1-0 win over Recreativo in Huelva well and truly kept them in touch, but not all Blanco fans would be happy with the route their heroes took to get there.
Madrid, under pressure to perform, showed signs of nerves in Huelva as Iker Casillas was left exposed time and again. Thankfully for the visiting fans, 'San Iker' was on song.
Among the other stand-outs were goalscorer Marcelo and midfielder Fernando Gago, but on the whole there were gaps in the performance that do not bode well. Neither Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - in the kind of game against lower-half opposition that he should be rampant in - or Raul really got going, and as such the margin of victory was fair.
That's something for Juande Ramos to think about heading into further away games. It's true that the sign of a great team is one that can win ugly - but there are limits.
Barcelona's Not-So-Narrow Win
The previous game also ended 1-0 to the visitors, but in fact Barcelona looked much more impressive at Getafe.
Granted, the hosts have struggled of late, but they traditionally do well against the Blaugrana, especially at home. Yet there was none of that on Saturday as Barcelona began an early onslaught.
Much of the success came from the midfield, where Getafe, lacking in invention, couldn't prevent Xavi and Iniesta from coming forward and feeding the excellent Lionel Messi.
Indeed, the fact that the match ended just 1-0 is testament largely to poor finishing from some Barcelona players, but especially the goalkeeping performance of Serbian loanee Vladimir Stojkovic, some of whose saves were bordering on the world-class.
Foregone Conclusion?
Yet the fact that both sides picked up the same number of their points for their efforts implies that Barcelona are not safe from the top. It's true - Madrid have a shorter distance to fall, but they're still up there. For Barcelona, a side that have traditionally found grinding out results harder than effortlessly flowing through games, a single loss could bring them down to earth with a bump.
Still, I've already put my cards on the table. For me, Barcelona are champions-in-waiting. It's only a matter of time. But Madrid could be a force for next season, given that they're keeping clean sheets again. We'll see.
Ewan Macdonald, Goal.com
The Blancos thus remain just six points behind the Blaugrana at the summit of La Primera, but the points tell just half the story. In fact, if we look closer at the respective performances this weekend, we can see a bigger gulf.
Madrid's Narrow Win
Real Madrid's 1-0 win over Recreativo in Huelva well and truly kept them in touch, but not all Blanco fans would be happy with the route their heroes took to get there.
Madrid, under pressure to perform, showed signs of nerves in Huelva as Iker Casillas was left exposed time and again. Thankfully for the visiting fans, 'San Iker' was on song.
Among the other stand-outs were goalscorer Marcelo and midfielder Fernando Gago, but on the whole there were gaps in the performance that do not bode well. Neither Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - in the kind of game against lower-half opposition that he should be rampant in - or Raul really got going, and as such the margin of victory was fair.
That's something for Juande Ramos to think about heading into further away games. It's true that the sign of a great team is one that can win ugly - but there are limits.
Barcelona's Not-So-Narrow Win
The previous game also ended 1-0 to the visitors, but in fact Barcelona looked much more impressive at Getafe.
Granted, the hosts have struggled of late, but they traditionally do well against the Blaugrana, especially at home. Yet there was none of that on Saturday as Barcelona began an early onslaught.
Much of the success came from the midfield, where Getafe, lacking in invention, couldn't prevent Xavi and Iniesta from coming forward and feeding the excellent Lionel Messi.
Indeed, the fact that the match ended just 1-0 is testament largely to poor finishing from some Barcelona players, but especially the goalkeeping performance of Serbian loanee Vladimir Stojkovic, some of whose saves were bordering on the world-class.
Foregone Conclusion?
Yet the fact that both sides picked up the same number of their points for their efforts implies that Barcelona are not safe from the top. It's true - Madrid have a shorter distance to fall, but they're still up there. For Barcelona, a side that have traditionally found grinding out results harder than effortlessly flowing through games, a single loss could bring them down to earth with a bump.
Still, I've already put my cards on the table. For me, Barcelona are champions-in-waiting. It's only a matter of time. But Madrid could be a force for next season, given that they're keeping clean sheets again. We'll see.
Ewan Macdonald, Goal.com
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