La Liga 2018/19: Barcelona vs Real Madrid

This post was initially featured on our dedicated Real Madrid analysis site, realmadridanalysis.com

Heartbreak. Pain. Disaster. Crisis. There are many words which could be used to describe the way that coach Julen Lopetegui went down with a sinking ship as Real Madrid produced a Titanic-esque display at the Camp Nou on Sunday in the Clasico. Fighting for their lives and their managers job having dropped to ninth in La Liga earlier on in the day, Los Blancos were left humiliated by a 5-1 defeat at the hands of arch nemesis, Barcelona. Here, our tactical analysis will use statistics to identify what key points Real Madrid can take from the game in a disastrous afternoon for Los Blancos as Luis Suarez and co. ran riot on Lopeteguis side.

Its over for Julen Lopetegui at Real Madrid

An analysis of where it went wrong for Lopetegui could go on for so long that it would probably take longer to write than Lopetegui actually spent at Real Madrid. Sunday was no different. Leaving Alvaro Odriozola out again in favour of Nacho, and then Lucas Vazquez at half-time was baffling. Leaving Vinicius Junior out, having refused to allow him to play for Castilla and spent all week battling his suspension this weekend, was even more confusing.

Substitutions came too late and werent the right ones. The team were crying out for fresh legs and new impetus to try to sustain the 10 minutes of success that they enjoyed after the break. Instead, Lopetegui waited until the 77th minute and after Luis Suarez had already given Barcelona a two-goal lead again. By that point the introductions of Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz just had no impact on a side who had been zapped of all hope and energy.

Victory over Viktoria Plzen in midweek bought him time and some will say that things could have been different. Had VAR not been in play, Barcelona may never have been two goals up. Equally, had Luka Modrics effort on the hour mark, just after Marcelos strike, deflected off the post and in rather than across the face of goal and out, then it could have been an entirely different game. Narrow margins, but having made so many mistakes, Lopetegui can have no excuses.

Sergio Ramos is no longer an elite defender

The form of Real Madrids two central defenders has been a major concern of late. Even though Raphael Varane conceded a penalty for a second consecutive La Liga match, it was Sergio Ramos who was left looking like a clown. His error directly led to Barcelonas fourth goal, whilst also hardly covering himself in glory for any of the first, third or fifth as his positioning was caught all over the place.

In the first goal, his decision making left