Since this is my very first post on Football Fixings, I suppose I should start off by clarifying that this is a blog about soccer, so if you came here looking to read about Fantasy and off-the-field controversies, I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Futbol, football, soccer, whatever you call it, it’s the most popular sport in the world by a country mile. And although the first things that come to an American’s mind when football is mentioned are the Super Bowl, touchdowns, and domestic abuse, football (soccer) and the MLS are growing considerably in the world’s biggest untapped market for the global sport, in no small part thanks to the USMNT’s heroic performances in the last two world cups.

But that’s a discussion for another day because what better way to kick off a football blog than a review of the biggest club game in the world, El Clasico. Yesterday saw the 229th clash between the two Spanish football goliaths, Barcelona and Real Madrid, and as always, it was a match that fit its grand billing. For any football fan, it’s a game that needs no introduction, so I’ll get right to it.

The scoreline really says it all. After a 2-1 defeat in the Camp Nou last October and a scintillating 4-3 loss at the Bernabeu, Carlo Ancelotti finally secured a league victory over the Blaugrana, and what a masterclass victory it was. Both sides came in with good form; Barcelona off a comfortable 3-1 win over Dutch champions Ajax and Real off an even more comfortable 3-0 against English side Liverpool. Also important to note was that Barcelona’s starting keeper, Claudio Bravo, had just broken the league record with eight consecutive clean sheets, which is especially impressive after Barca’s defensive frailties of recent seasons. Although that isn’t to say there weren’t some scares along the way. Plus, if any team in La Liga was going to discontinue that record, it was going to be Real Madrid.

The Goals

Although there were absolutely no questions of Madrid’s ability to score goals, there were certainly questions of their solidarity at the back, namely the imbalanced, offensive nature of the midfield after the summer departure of Xabi Alonso. To shore up these holes in midfield, Ancelotti set his team up in a 4-4-2, with Isco and James Rodriguez on the flanks, Kroos and Modric in the center, and Ronaldo and Benzema up top. Not only would this formation allow plenty of white shirts behind the ball, but also set up Ronaldo and co. to strike back like a spring every time possession was won. However, this line-up did leave Madrid vulnerable to counter attacks themselves, a weakness that the trio of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez took only four minutes to exploit.

Bravo had just collected a deflection, and the ball made its way to Messi, who skipped past the challenges of Kroos and Marcelo. The ball soon found its way to Suarez who found himself 1-on-1 with Ramos on the right wing. He quickly picked out Neymar at the edge of the box who easily cut in across Carvajal and Pepe and scored. Marcelo, who did have a magnificent game going forward, failed to recognize the danger in the gap Ramos had left behind after covering for him. Pepe was caught flat-footed and it was all too easy for Neymar to slot it past Casillas with no center-half to confront him in time.

Although Barcelona’s opener certainly resulted from mistakes by the back four, it is tempting to attribute this early collapse to the aforementioned imbalance of the midfield. Especially when you consider that during the moment Neymar scored, only Modric had made an effort to track back, following Messi’s run into the box but failing to notice the large gap that had formed between Pepe and Ramos, maybe a gap the more experienced Xabi Alonso would have plugged up.

But at least Luka gets an A for effort, unlike Kroos, who casually jogged back after a tame challenge on Messi, and James, who simply watched from behind as Neymar put Barcelona in front. Ancelotti would have been absolutely furious at his side’s early capitulation, as the 1-0 scoreline four minutes in seemed to point towards yet another Barcelona league victory. But in the end, Real Madrid simply had too much firepower for Lucho’s men to cope with, and a handball by Pique in the 34th minute gifted Ronaldo a penalty, which put Madrid right back into the game.

Despite having just broken the record for consecutive clean sheets, the way Barcelona conceded the three goals were simply unacceptable mistakes at the top level, let alone during El Clasico.

For the first goal, two simple lapses in judgment led to the handball. Rodriguez received a pass on the wing, and Dani Alves was indecisive between the ball and Marcelo, who was charging forward from behind. He took just one regrettable step towards James, and in a flash the speedy left-back was gone. All of this could have been avoided had Iniesta simply tracked Marcelo’s run or communicated to his fullback which man to stay with. Then Pique gave the referee an easy call with a dubious decision to go to ground and block the cross with his arm. For someone who has been trying to regain form and secure a spot in the starting lineup, it was an unfortunate mistake that will no doubt put his selection at CB over Mathieu into question.

The second goal was conceded in typical Barcelona fashion, a team that conceded a laughable number of set piece goals last season for one of Europe’s elite. Off a Kroos corner, a combination of disorganization and a lack of physical presence in the box led to Pepe’s free header and only Barca’s second conceded goal of the season.

First off, Sergio Busquets was the player marking Pepe as Kroos took the corner. And Mathieu, the tallest Barca player, was unsurprisingly given the role of covering Cristiano. But as the corner was taken, Ronaldo quickly made a run towards the near post, using the crowd of blue and white shirts to lose the former Valencia defender. And this is where Barcelona’s clear deficiencies in set-pieces began to emerge.

First of all, Busquets, to compound upon his poor second-half performance, sees Ronaldo making the aforementioned run towards the near post and panics. In his mind, something clearly went wrong as Ronaldo should be the last person to go unmarked; so he decided to leave Pepe and got dragged to the No. 7. The only problem is Mathieu, who was originally tracking Ronaldo, had already left his spot in the center of the box to follow the prolific striker as well. So all of a sudden, two of Barcelona’s tallest players were found chasing Ronaldo to the near post, leaving not only a lack of height in the middle of the box, but also Pepe, who is no slouch on set-pieces, completely unmarked.

Thus, Ronaldo’s run in this set-piece, which was clearly worked on the training pitch, ultimately left Dani Alves to fend for himself against both Ramos and Pepe when the ball came in. It was a contest he inevitably lost, giving Pepe a free header on goal and Real’s first lead of the game early into the second half.

Jeremy Mathieu, bought in the summer for a fee of €20 million, was brought in to strengthen Barca’s back-line and provide some desperately needed height and power on set-pieces. Yet, even after being put at LB, which allowed Luis Enrique to select his three tallest players, Busquets, Pique, and Mathieu, for the starting lineup, Barcelona were still disorganized, out-muscled, and out-smarted by their biggest rivals. If Lucho wishes to discontinue his side’s awful form on set-pieces, there is much work to be done on the training ground, as the problems clearly lie deeper than simply a lack of height and physicality.

I won’t go into depth for the third goal, since it was Iniesta’s simple mistake that was punished by a typically ruthless Madrid counter-attack. But I will note the impressive work-rate of Isco, whose perseverance created the goal. He has been in fantastic form this year after a relatively quiet 13/14 season since signing from Malaga, and the sky seems the limit for such a talented, young midfielder. It’s impossible to say whether Gareth Bale would have had a greater or smaller impact, but Isco was certainly a pivotal player in dominating the midfield 3 of Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets, a trio that was once unquestionably the best in the world.

Conclusion

There is so much I would love to talk about, such as my first impressions of Luis Suarez and Enrique’s decision to play Xavi in midfield and Mathieu at leftback. However, since this is my first post on Football Fixings, I’d love to publish it as soon as possible, so I’ll just conclude with a few final words.

Barcelona’s big summer signing showed good signs. For someone who hasn’t played a professional match for four months, Suarez had an impressive showing. He created a few decent chances, showed moments of his world-class work-rate and tenacity, and even managed to garner an assist. He’s clearly a work in progress, but once he is fully fit and integrated into the side, I have no doubt Barca’s front three will comprise one of, if not the deadliest, attacking forces in the world.