A Copa del Rey semi-final Clasico at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is a big occasion, and Real Madrid headed into the tie feeling positive after a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou, but after an evenly fought first half, they ended up on the losing side.
Despite being by far the better side, they were on the end of yet another thrashing from Barcelona on home turf as Luis Suarez scored a brace, the second from the penalty spot, either side of Raphael Varanes own goal. His display showed Real Madrid just what they were missing as they spurned chance after chance at the other end.
Here, our tactical analysis will use statistics to identify what key points Santiago Solari and Real Madrid can take from the game as they crashed out of the Copa del Rey at the penultimate hurdle to Barcelona.
Lineups
Both teams went largely as expected with their team selections, with some big names not involved for Real Madrid. Marcelo and Gareth Bale kept their places on the bench, and Isco was left out entirely. Barcelonas attempt to congest the right hand side with Sergi Roberto and Nelson Semedo was a clear tactic to control Vinicius Junior, though it had little success.
Vinicius has room to improve
Rarely can one player be so polarising with a single performance. The heart of everything that Real Madrid achieved in attack, he led the way and wreaked havoc up against Nelson Semedo, skinning the full-back with 11 successful dribbles. Its an incredible statistic and shows just how much free reign he achieved down the left flank and showed all of the good work he did, but he could never apply the finishing touch.
With 1.1 xG, o
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