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“Whenever I emerge victorious they are unable to say anything,” Lamine Yamal previously remarked, however this time he came up short and opponents were coming for him. Comments were made he spoke too much; came the response that, indeed, they would meet him outside; they told him words mean little. And that was just the players: there was more from commentators in media platforms, individuals who never lose.

On the eve the clásico, the teenager who claims he left fear behind in his hometown implied that the Madrid side rob and complain, according to reports. He also provided a recollection that the last time he had been the Santiago Bernabéu – as a youngster with blaugrana dental work, a spark in his eye and his shooting ability was unexpected he possessed – he beat them 4-0. But that was then and the present differed. Moreover, an adult now, precisely twelve months later, he was beaten back. He knew, as opponents made sure.

Bellingham scores clásico decisive goal as Real Madrid open a gap of Barcelona

As the match conclusion sounded on a wild, heated 262nd Madrid-Barca match that was a little like old times, the Barcelona winger approached towards Dani Carvajal, offering a handshake. Instead of accepting it, Carvajal did the old jibber-jabber gesture. It had been hard enough keeping up with all the action that unfolded in the 105 minutes that preceded it, a match of 38 shots, multiple scores recorded and three more disallowed; now it was too much.

Suddenly there were footballers all around, racing in and out of sight and piling in, police pulling individuals apart. In the middle the melee, Madrid’s goalkeeper took up the offer to continue the dispute down the tunnel. The Brazilian forward was restrained, he telling someone as well they are too vocal. Raphinha hurried to intervene with his countryman, the defender there too. “The scene resembled when we young,” Aurélien Tchouaméni commented.

Turning Point

In April, the French star posted: “They celebrate our defeats as if our winning days are over. We will return stronger.” Madrid had just lost a derby Copa del Rey final 3-2 after additional minutes, a collective breakdown following the final whistle, ice cubes being thrown. Two weeks afterwards, they suffered another loss. In four clásicos, Madrid had lost on each occasion, league, cup and Super Cup won by Barcelona. They had conceded four, five, three and 4. But there is always tomorrow and it turned out Tchouaméni was right.

On just one occasion have the Catalan side ever won 5 derbies in a row, under Guardiola record-breaking streak concluding with that 5-0 versus José Mourinho’s side, and it wouldn’t happen again. This past weekend, Real Madrid ended the coach’s perfect record as manager, beating their arch-rivals 2-1 to go five points ahead in first place in La Liga.

What It Means

The Madrid squad had needed the victory. The celebration reflected this, players celebrating in circles. So did the noise, their stadium more vocal and more edgy than for such matches in recent memory: “amazing,” the English midfielder described it. The coach said so too. Asked if this was a weight off his shoulders, if existed a psychosis regarding big games, an obsession, Xabi Alonso shot back: “That’s you lot’s thing.” Yet he did admit that the result represented “more than three points, but where we come from and its importance for the squad; the players needed the experience of winning a major fixture.”

In the previous campaign they failed to secure a win in such matches. On fourteen occasions they lost: French side, Italian club, Liverpool, Athletic, city rivals, Sevilla-based, Atlético, Valencia and Arsenal all beat them. There wasn’t a single win versus a top-tier opponent. Carlo Ancelotti departed and succeeded by Alonso yet the trend persisted. Madrid won five games in the global tournament, indications of a structure emerging, an idea, but then came Paris Saint Germain.

Current Campaign

That belongs to last season, the coach said. But the next season, under his guidance season, started with a winning streak consecutively before city rivals visited and put five past them. It was all well and good beating newly promoted, Mallorca and Osasuna but what about the big teams? Finally they defeated a major rival too. Moreover it wasn’t just that Madrid won, but also the manner they won.

Barcelona had players unavailable: Joan García, Gavi, attacking midfielder, star striker and defender were all missing. So too Raphinha, an important player might now be appreciated in absentia. Others were not at 100%, defender and young forward included. Among substitutes they had five players who hadn’t started a league game, two more who featured only once; teenagers, four 18-year-olds and a couple who are 19. Plus a centre-back, Ronald Araújo, who ended it up front once more. Even head coach was absent, Flick suspended and stuck in a commentary box. Marcus Sorg, his assistant, has been on the touchline three times: he suffered defeats in all of them.

Tactical Analysis

Much discussion focuses of Barcelona’s vulnerable high line, but their offense struggled effectively during the match. Among comments directed to Lamine Yamal on Sunday, perhaps the most revealing was from Vinícius during the game, taunting Yamal by saying: “Your play is backwards passes.” Regarding their defense, leakier compared to past after Iñigo Martínez departing, the pressure on opponents decreasing and the timing lacking, one opponent made multiple opportunities against them, Rayo five, Sevilla 5, Girona 3. Last year they caught Kylian Mbappé offside eight times in a high-scoring game; yet, lost amid the defeats, was that in the last meeting he got a hat-trick, Real Madrid consistently positioned to create chances now.

Key Moments

With this approach, especially. This was a beginning as well as a significant result. “In the future we’re going to need much of our performance today,” the manager commented. They put shots result in goals on five occasions – three ruled out due to offside – missed {a penalty|a spot-kick