Clásico corner: Stats stacked in Barça's favour
What do the numbers say about Sunday's showdown?
They say that form goes out of the window for a Derby. Or a Clásico.
But as Barcelona welcome Real Madrid to Camp Nou on Sunday, having already beaten their illustrious enemies twice this season, and with a nine-point lead over Los Blancos in the LaLiga standings, perhaps it’s hard to look past the high-flying hosts.
This certainly isn’t the first time that these two have clashed with one far ahead of the other. Last season, Real Madrid had a 15-point cushion as they took on third-placed Barça in March, while it was the Catalan giants with a 17-point advantage back in May 2018.
Intriguingly, neither of those games were won by the league-table frontrunners.
Complacency certainly shouldn’t be an issue this weekend, however, as Xavi’s inevitable juggernaut continues its steady steamroll towards the title.
A 1-0 victory at Athletic Club last weekend was, incredibly, their 11th such win of the season, having won eight of their last 18 games with a single goal. None of the last 34 LaLiga Champions have won so many of their games by one goal to nil – and only Valencia, with seven in both 2002 and 2004, come remotely close.
Now with clean sheets in 52.5% of their games across all competitions this term, the league leaders are stingy, and Real Madrid know exactly how it feels to get stung.
Just three weeks back in the Copa Clásico, Carlo Ancelotti’s side were unable to land a shot on target as Barça added another 1-0 win to their collection, catching Los Blancos out with the high press as Eduardo Camavinga was dispossessed.
As a loopy throw-in landed at the feet of the Frenchman, needing to bring the ball under control while facing his own goal, the pressing trap was sprung, as Gavi and Franck Kessié applied the pressure, while Raphinha and Ferran Torres narrowed the escape route.
Latching onto the underhit pass, the ball ended up bundled in the Bernabéu net.
When it comes to front-footed defending, few can match Barcelona’s off-the-ball proactivity this season. No side in LaLiga can better their 115 high turnovers – situations in which they have won the ball within forty metres of the opponents goal, while a PPDA (passes per defensive action) value of 8.88 – measuring, on average, how many passes the opposing team makes before Barça look to make a challenge – means that Xavi’s side the most intense pressers in Iberia.
Barcelona also caught out Real Madrid in the Supercopa in January, pouncing on a risky pass from Ferland Mendy before racing through to score.
As Real Madrid tried to build up from the back, Barça would rush high to block off as many passing lanes as possible, with Ousmane Dembélé preventing the simple pass down the line, and Robert Lewandowski covering the ball across to the centre-back.
With Gavi also patrolling the opposite side of the pitch, Mendy panics under pressure from Dembélé, and plays a poor ball into Camavinga, who is pounced upon by both Sergio Busquets and Pedri in the middle.
So adept at closing down spaces and plugging gaps as they press high, Manchester United seemed to want to avoid any interaction whatsoever with Barcelona in their own third, particularly from goal kicks.
With 22 attempted long balls, including the one below, David de Gea often made sure that the dangerous final third was completely bypassed, not giving Xavi’s side the chance to set their intricate traps
Perhaps it will be a case of twice bitten, thrice shy this weekend for Real Madrid.
With just two days to go, we’re gearing up for a colossal Clásico with extended coverage here on La Liga Lowdown.
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