Most teams are happy to walk out of the Bernabeu with a tie, let alone on a stretcher thanks to the appropriate, sporting play of players like Álvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos and Pepe. Not only did Barcelona manage to avoid the season-ending love tackles of the Meréngues, but it did so in such way as to say, “Hey now, fellas. Let’s save it for the fun time you’ll have over at our place.”
Yes, Barça became the first side ever to go five consecutive away Clásicos without defeat. The advantage that Pep Guardiola and company take into the next match could help them lift the first trophy of the season – the Spanish Super Cup. That’s right, this is no ‘We Promise Not To Drop It Under A Bus This Time Cup’. This is, according to Mourinho, the least important trophy of the season but the most important trophy of the pre-season.
But seriously, the Spanish Super Cup could pave the way for another printing of t-shirts with six stars on it come next May. And with an away goal advantage going into a likely packed Camp Nou, the odds look good.
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FC Barcelona
I expect the lineups to be similar to the first leg as Guardiola needs optimal rest for his stars ahead of this ridiculously long season. Midfielders Sergio Buquets and Xavi Hernandez will likely be on the bench for most, if not all, of the match, with Thiago Alcântara and Seydou Keita holding it down in their absence. Keita’s defensive mid qualities are questionable and his distribution is not on par with Busquets, a big factor in Madrid’s constant ball circulation in the 2-2 first leg at the Bernabeu.
A shining beacon of awesomeness and grit in the first leg that was Alexis Sanchez made Madrid’s left flank appear amateur at times. I think the Chilean will once again start ahead of Pedro Rodriguez and could easily make all the difference in this match. The atomic flea (our number 10) is bound to be bouncing around in his false 9 position, seeking to draw out Ricardo Carvalho and whatever other mercenary Mourinho can hire in time to put in at center back.
And it wouldn’t be Barcelona without the defensive instability, now would it? Gerard Piqué is still recovering and could probably benefit from a bit more of love and care from Shakira, while El capitán Carles Puyol is still letting his hair, er, knee get back to full strength following surgery over the summer. This means that Éric Abidal will slot into his position of yore alongside distributor-central-
Predicted line up: Valdes; Alves, Mascherano, Abidal, Adriano; Keita, Thiago, Iniesta; Villa, Messi, Sanchez
Real Madrid CF
And the unforeseeable has happened. “Madrid’s bench ain’t big enough for the both of us,” says every player. While Hamit Altintop, Nuri Şahin and Esteban Granero recover from injury, Sami Khedira, José Callejón, Fábio Coentrão and Ángel Di Maria will fight for two positions in Mourinho’s star-studded team.
Expect: lots of clean tackles, genuinely supportive gestures at the referees and smiles from the Madrid coach only when he’s actually happy.
Something should be said however, for the pressing Madrid was almost inexplicably able to pull off last time. Mesut Özil and Xabi Alonso’s circulation of the ball seemed like Florentino Pérez had successfully gotten spies into La Masia to see what has actually been going down over there.
Nothing out of the ordinary was put on display in the first leg except for Pepe as a central defender instead of a midfielder. Two things were surprising about this match. Madrid used the same 5-0 line up from a year ago, and did not use Pepe as an enforcer, something that made a tremendous difference in the series of Clásicos in April. The other surprise was that a bloodier altercation did not materialize between him and Alves given the red card the Portuguese received in April. Spoiler alert: they don’t like each other.
Predicted line up: Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Carvalho, Arbeloa, Marcelo; Pepe, Xabi Alonso; Özil, Cristiano, Khedira; Benzema
Prediction: If Madrid could not put it away when they had it really going for them, it’s a missed opportunity, one that will not present itself again in this tournament. As the Barcelona engine begins to hum again, possession will rise and so will the players’ confidence.
FC Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid
Visca el Barça.
Editor’s note: While Roberto Curtis has written for totalBarca in the recent past, this is his first regular season match preview.
