How should Barcelona approach El Clasico without Messi?

Barcelona host Real Madrid at the Camp Nou on Sunday. Here’s how Ernesto Valverde should approach the match without Leo Messi.

Barcelona and Real Madrid come head to head in the season’s first El Clasico on Sunday, October 28. This one might have a little less hype than the usual ones probably because of the absences of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. While the Portuguese joined Juventus over the summer, Messi is injured.

Though there might not be a great puff about the match, it certainly will not be a decaffeinated one. That said, despite two teams missing probably the best players in their illustrious history, there is a lot at stake, most importantly the top spot for Barcelona in the La Liga standings and Julen Lopetegui’s job.

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Although it might look like Real Madrid have been able to recover from their loss of Cristiano Ronaldo after pulling off decent results at the start of the season, they did hinder of late but will surely come back as they’re faltering with their playing style and not missing Ronaldo. But as for Barcelona, Leo Messi has been more or less involved in every goal of theirs, so they will have to approach this match with a different tactic.

Ernesto Valverde surely isn’t a tactical genius but he can get it right if the opponent come at his team as per his anticipation. Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium last December and it was far from a convincing display from the Spanish champions. However, being technically adept and making full use of their chances gave Barcelona all three points.

In the first half, Real Madrid was by far the better team and kept pressing high up the pitch. The Whites lined up with Mateo Kovacic and Isco, who gave them pace and a hold of the ball while going forward. The Madridistas kept probing for the goal and with every passing interval they increased the pressure that they put on Barca.

Meanwhile, Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona side was more than happy to sit back and welcome Real Madrid’s high press. Doing this, the Whites got a lot of chances but were unable to even get a sniff of the ball inside the Barcelona box. Marc Ter Stegen would usually come and clear it or Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Sergio Busquets would be there to win headed duels in the box.

Remember, there was no Gareth Bale in the starting eleven which meant that if Barcelona stopped the ball from reaching Ronaldo’s head, they were potentially safe. The first half ended in a 0-0 with Real Madrid much the better and more attacking side between the two. It looked only a matter of time before they got their goal.

But in the second half, the events started taking an unconventional and unexpected turn. With just more than 45 minutes on the clock, Real Madrid’s players looked tired after the amount of pressing and attacking that they had done in the first half. Yet, their Barcelona counterparts who just absorbed the pressure by sitting back and looked very fresh coming into the second part.

Ernesto Valverde’s men now had a lot more possession and were able to dominate the gameplay even in Real Madrid’s half. Luis Suarez took advantage of a tired midfield to open the scoring for the Catalans. It was Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic who were the protagonists in the build-up to the goal after the Spanish mid played a great ball to Rakitic who had the centre of the park to his own.

Just a few minutes later, Dani Carvajal denied Luis Suarez a certain second goal by handling the ball on the goal line. The right back was sent off and Lionel Messi extended Barcelona’s lead from twelve paces out before teeing up Aleix Vidal to complete a 3-0 routing in stoppage time.

Barcelona picked up all three points and that was thanks to a tactical masterclass from their manager. If Ernesto Valverde chooses to opt for the same tactics against Julen Lopetegui’s Real Madrid side then Barcelona could benefit a lot more than they last did. Los Blancos’ coach employs an indirect and passing based style of football where a lot of players are required to put in a shift across the pitch. In addition, the players also apply a high pressure. The Catalans can once again sit back and happily absorb the press from Real Madrid before using their prowess to kill them off in the second half.

Next. 5 things learnt as Barcelona beat Inter Milan. dark

Ernesto Valverde included Rafinha Alcantara in the starting eleven of the match against Inter Milan on Wednesday night but might want to go for Ousmane Dembele in this case. Should Real Madrid indeed get worn out in the match, then the France international’s pace will definitely pay dividends.

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