Real Madrid outplayed and beat Barcelona in what could still be a season-defining El Clásico in La Liga. Zinedine Zidane continued his dominance over Los Blancos fiercest rivals by deploying his team in a slightly unusual system, completely nullifying Ronald Koemans newfound tactics.
The hosts cut through their guests with power, pace and a direct approach, leaving them scrapping for the majority of the first half. Barcelona did recover in the second half but it wasnt enough to salvage a point.
This tactical analysis will dissect both teams tactics and explain just how did Real Madrid tally another convincing victory over Barcelona.
Lineups
Well start our analysis by introducing the lineups. Real Madrid made some changes to their roster, partly influenced by the unavailability of some big names like Sergio Ramos and Raphaël Varane, and partly due to Zidanes new tactics. Thibaut Courtois was still in goal and in front of him was a quartet of Lucas Vázquez, Éder Militão, Nacho Fernández and Ferland Mendy.
In midfield, Real fielded some familiar names in Casemiro, Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos but they were also joined by Fede Valverde, who had an interesting role to play. Finally, Karim Benzema and Vinícius Júnior were Los Blancos focal points in attack.
On paper, Real Madrid were deployed in a 4-3-3 formation (4-1-4-1 according to Wyscout) but that wasnt always the case, as well mention further down the line of this tactical analysis.
Barcelona, on the other hand, didn’t make many changes to their best XI. With Gerard Piqué still not fully fit, Ronald Araújo started the game, slotting next to Clément Lenglet and Óscar Mingueza in a back three ahead of Marc-André ter Stegen. Koeman opted for Frenkie de Jong in midfield as opposed to his new libero role and the Dutchman was there alongside Sergio Busquets and Pedri, who floated across the thirds throughout the clash.
Jordi Alba and Sergiño Dest provided the width as wingbacks while Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembélé completed the forward line on the night.
Barcelona were deployed in a 3-4-3 system against
