With the 4-0 thrashing in the last Clásico still fresh in the club’s mind, you would’ve forgiven Zidane for instructing his side to be cautious, but the way Madrid went about it in the opening 25 minutes was too cautious. From the first second, Madrid refused to tread into Barcelona’s half, not straying far from the 40 yard-line. Ronaldo, Benzema, and Bale looked to cut out passing lanes, while Modric, Kroos, and Casemiro, waited to snap at the heels of Barcelona’s midfielders (particularly Busquets, who was zonally marked by whoever was near him) and attackers. The formation was essentially a defensive 4-5-1, with the focus being on clogging the midfield in order to prevent Barcelona from playing through the middle. This was all well and good, but Real Madrid were so conservative, that they couldn’t even spark an attack until Ronaldo carried the ball up the field, taking on the entire Barcelona defense himself around 8 minutes 30 seconds (it resulted in a goal kick, but it was Real's first attack). But such a run couldn’t spark anything from Madrid, as BBC remained isolated and Barcelona’s press suffocated any passes attempting to be played from the midfield. Kroos called for more pressing from his teammates on 13 minutes, leading to some braver play that coincided with the applause for Johan Cruyff, which then led to Modric slipping in Bale on the counter on 15 minutes. But that was an isolated moment, as Madrid still struggled to create after that moment.
But perhaps, even more worrying than Madrid’s toothless play, was the fact that Barcelona were working their way around Madrid’s low block.
Suarez dragged Madrid's CB's out of position, leaving gaping holes for a Barcelona attacker to exploit at the heart of Madrid's defense.
The movement of Suarez in particular, dragged Madrid’s center backs and midfielders all over the place, allowing Barcelona to dink balls over the top, which one of Barca’s forwards would then control, and then either switch play or link-up with a joining attacker. Barcelona had seemingly found Madrid’s weakness, Los Blancos were not positionally sound. Too often in the opening period did balls slip in behind Modric, Kroos and Casemiro, and too often were Pepe and Ramos charging up recklessly to try to win the ball. This left gaping holes in Madrid’s defense that Barca looked more ready to exploit as every second passed by. But then, something changed.
A counter released Ronaldo down the right flank, who used some brilliant trickery to ease past his man and release Madrid’s first shot on goal. This seemed to give some belief to the rest of the team, as Madrid suddenly emerged from their shell.
Real Madrid’s Change in Tactics Knocked Barcelona Off Their Rhythm
After Ronaldo’s shot, Madrid began to institute a sporadic press, carefully started by either Modric or Kroos in select moments, so as not to constantly leave too many gaps behind them. This shift in tactics, possibly started by Zidane on the sidelines, disturbed Barca, as they became wary of Madrid’s threat on the counter. The release of pressure periodically also gave Madrid’s back-line their confidence back, as they began to shut-out MSN in one-vs-one situations, and made crucial interceptions on through balls. The offside trap also came into effect more consistently, as Luis Suarez was caught out in key moments.
Real Madrid also started to play the ball more effectively down the flanks. Players began to receive the ball with a purpose, as they immediately turned to switch the ball to Bale’s flank whenever they had the opportunity. Marcelo for his part, made sure that Ronaldo got his fair share of touches, and as Madrid began to attack, it soon became clear that Madrid’s explosive wingers had a handle on Barcelona’s fullbacks. Ronaldo in particular was on fire, completing a match high 3 dribbles and drawing 2 tackles in the first half. Yet as the first 45 minutes came to an end, Zidane must’ve known there was still a lot of work to do. BBC had only a combined for 45 touches between them, with all of Madrid’s 5 shots coming from them. BBC were still too isolated, and Madrid were relying on them to do everything in attack. Part of the problem was that Benzema was not on top form. His usual link-up play was missing, as he was sloppy on the ball, making 4 bad controls in the first half, and he skied a brilliant chance to give Madrid the lead. Yet there was reason for hope for Zidane going into the second half. Barcelona were rattled, and their penetrative play had disappeared into long balls or sideways passes. The match was there for Madrid’s taking, and boy did they take it (well, eventually).
Real Madrid Perfected Their Counter-Attacking Scheme in the Second Half
The second half started off shakily though for Madrid, as Pepe had a mad moment where he rushed out with the ball, only to lose it and give Barcelona a chance. But after that heart-stopping moment, Madrid recovered somewhat, and began to exploit space down the flanks more efficiently, as a Ronaldo challenge on Rakitic and a Casemiro challenge sparked two counters. But Madrid were still warming up, as Benzema and Ronaldo looked too isolated at times and The Whites’ attacks began to break down too easily. Barcelona got back into it because of this, and just like Ronaldo’s shot in the first half, Messi’s lobbed attempt on 54 minutes, which was denied brilliantly by Navas, sparked some belief back into Barcelona. Only a minute later, Pique scored from a corner, dancing easily past Pepe (who did a poor job marking his man), and therefore irritating every single Real Madrid fan across the globe to no end. I mean it’s sorta okay if MSN does it, but Pique?!! Why Pique?!!
Thankfully though, the goal spurred Madrid into top gear as they replied only 8 minutes later. Marcelo started the counter-attack on a brilliant winding run, as he left defender after defender for dead, and just when he looked like he was going to shoot, he slipped in Kroos, who’s deflected cross arced into the air uncomfortably in front of Benzema. But without breaking a sweat, Benzema acrobatically lept into the air, and executed an astonishing bicycle kick that silenced the Camp Nou into submission. From then on Madrid were the dominant force.
They formed two banks of four, pushing Ronaldo slightly higher, and released BBC on devastating counter after counter. Aside from the occasional mistake by Real Madrid’s own personnel (that Benzema ball to Suarez was a horrific moment), Barcelona rarely threatened. Things got even better for Madrid when the ever-hungry Jese came on for Benzema in the 78th minute (aside from the goal, the Frenchman had been poor, and had really been unable to establish himself as Real Madrid’s fulcrum in attack). Only minutes later, Marcelo helped spark another counter, that Ronaldo turned into a chance when he picked out Bale smartly on the right-hand side of the box. Real Madrid thought they had scored as Bale dominated Alba in the air, but the referee made a poor decision in adjudging that the dimunitive fullback was fouled. But Real Madrid continued to push and push, as Ronaldo went close by nearly arrowing a goal into the top corner. Then Bale poked a ball through Bravo’s legs, which Alba cleared. It seemed inevitable that Real Madrid would score, but one other inevitable happened first.
Ramos slid in rashly on Suarez, who milked it for all it was worth, giving no choice for the referee but to send Los Blancos’ captain off in the 83rd minute. But if you thought that would kill Real Madrid’s momentum you were wrong. One minute later, Carvajal sprinted up the center of the pitch, fed Jese, who in turn fed Bale, who then crossed it to Ronaldo. Without losing a single ounce of concentration, Ronaldo controlled the ball brilliantly off his chest and slammed the ball throughClaudio Bravo’s legs. It was sheer footballing brilliance from everyone involved and the boos and whistles that had rung out resoundingly whenever Ronaldo touched the ball were utterly silenced. Calma, calma, Barcelona fans, your favorite player Ronaldo is here.
Barcelona Were Set-Up to Fail On the Flanks
Hindsight is 20/20, but I could see problems in Barcelona’s tactics well before the end of the match.
Unlike Madrid, who were disciplined in their defensive duties from Ronaldo to Pepe, Barcelona featured a top heavy side with no defensive commitment from MSN. Take a look at Barcelona’s shape on the flanks (it’s not pretty viewing for fans of La Blaugrana).
Messi played into Madrid's hands by drifting centrally.
Neymar's positioning shows almost no movement in his own defensive third.
Barca's fullbacks pushed up way too high.
Firstly, Messi’s forays into the center of the pitch, which was an attempt to help Barcelona in build-up, proved useless. He never found a scything ball across the floor, and instead had to resort to lobbed passes that really only came off once (in the 80th minute, where Suarez volleyed past the post). Instead, Messi’s positioning had a destabilizing affect on Barcelona’s shape, as he left Barcelona’s right flank completely open to Real Madrid’s most lethal player on the park, Cristiano Ronaldo. Dani Alves was also pushing up insanely high (as can be seen on the heatmap, is average positioning is above the halfway line), which is almost as bad as putting a neon sign on Cristiano Ronaldo’s forehead that says, "pass the ball to me, I am totally free."
But Messi’s positioning also did more than hurt Barcelona defensively. It arguably weakened Barca’s attacking options, as he refused to combine with Alves on the flank and provide width to Barcelona’s attack - which would’ve stretched Real Madrid’s back-line.
All of Messi's passing options were either cut off, or were useless back passes or sideways passes.
Instead, his central positioning played straight into the hands of Madrid, as Los Blancos’ defensive block could clog the center of the pitch. There is also the small matter of the fact that Messi’s positioning allowed Casemiro to hound him day and night.
Overall not a good night for the Argentinian genius. It remains to be seen whether Messi made these decisions himself, or whether Enrique instructed him to position himself that way. But based on these post-match quotes by Enrique on MSN, you’d have to guess that Messi decided things for himself.
But let’s not let Neymar or Jordi Alba get away with it! Jordi Alba was also positioned insanely high, refusing to time his runs with Dani Alves, causing Barcelona to have a back tow instead of a back three at all times. The Spaniard’s positioning gave Bale total autonomy down the right flank, which was only exacerbated by Neymar’s total lack of defensive effort in shutting Bale down. With such poor preparation buy Enrique, and no defensive effort on Messi and Neymar’s part, it is easy to see how Ronaldo and Bale tore Barcelona to pieces down the flanks.
Casemiro Was the Man of the Match
It was a long time coming in this article, but Casemiro was brilliant. In the first half he was slightly shaky positionally, but that was no different from the rest of the team. He made 5 tackles in the first half and was Madrid’s strongest performer in the first 45 aside from Bale and Ronaldo. But in the second period of play, Casemiro took things to the next level. Zidane’s tactics of clogging the midfield and Messi’s unwillingness to use the flanks played straight into Casemiro’s hands, as he used his physicality to dominate Messi and others off the ball. Simply put, there was no route through the center (Barcelona’s main avenue of attack not only in this game, but in many others) because Casemiro was an absolute brick wall. This allowed Madrid to stifle Barcelona and win the ball with ease, allowing the likes of Modric and Kroos to release Ronaldo and Bale down the flanks. He ended the match with an eye-catching 8 tackles, 3 interceptions, 1 clearance, and 2 blocked shots; proving Zidane right for choosing and possibly cementing himself as the centerpiece to any counter-attacking scheme Real Madrid plan in the future.
Cristiano Ronaldo & Gareth Bale Were Also Brilliant
The final mention must go out to my favorite winger-duo in world football. For all of Real Madrid’s heart and grit in midfield, the win would not have been possible without the stunning wing-play and discipline of the Flying Welshman and the Dark Invader. Firstly, Bale and Ronaldo were the outlet of pretty much every single Los Blancos attack.
As you can see above, Kroos and Modric centered their passing around the flanks, as they dumped imagination into the dumpster and simply made the right decisions, as they pumped all of their attack-minded passes towards the flanks. This put a lot of pressure on Ronaldo and Bale, as Benzema was off-form and the only support they received was from their fullbacks. This meant that CR7 and Bale needed to carry the ball up the pitch themselves, which would not only have been exhausting but extremely difficult technically. Yet they carried out this duty with ease, and tortured Barcelona’s fullbacks with their pace and their invention (Ronaldo in particular). It all paid off in the end, as Bale got his assist and Ronaldo got his winning goal, to help a 10-man Madrid bury Barcelona.
But their unnoticed and possibly more important work, was what they did without the ball on defense, as they positioned themselves carefully to cut off passing lanes and prevent any attacking inroads down their flanks. This was crucial to Zidane’s scheme of compressing the pitch and clogging the midfield, as Barcelona was then forced to play the ball through the middle. The few times the ball was played down the flank, Bale and Ronaldo helped shut out the danger immediately, with Ronaldo’s tracking run on Jordi Alba in the 40th minute a particular highlight. Such commitment was just outstanding to see, and in hindsight you can see why our wingers were so important to Real Madrid’s victory.
¡Hala Madrid!
Barcelona v Real Madrid(1-2): How the players rated in El Clasico -Apr 3, 2016
Barcelona's 39-match unbeaten run ended as they were beaten 2-1 at home by 10-man Real Madrid at the Nou Camp.
Gerard Pique headed the hosts in front but Real quickly equalised through Karim Benzema's spectacular volley.
But which players impressed and who disappointed? These are the player ratings for both sides.
Barcelona
Claudio Bravo (goalkeeper) - 6
Had little chance with either of Real's goals, and punched out a drive from Cristiano Ronaldo in the first half. Solid enough when dealing with crosses and blameless in defeat.
Dani Alves (right back) - 6
Mindful of the threat posed by Ronaldo down his flank, the Brazilian was more restrained than usual in coming forward, and Barca perhaps suffered from his reduced service to Lionel Messi. Fired a long-range blaster over the bar.
Gerard Pique (centre back) - 7
Scored Barca's goal with a good header from a corner and generally defended well, making one excellent block to deny Benzema. Will have been frustrated to see Toni Kroos' deflected cross skim over his head and drop for Benzema to equalise.
Javier Mascherano (centre back) - 6
A typical battling display from the Argentine, who was rightly shown a yellow card for a crude challenge on Gareth Bale. Generally contained Benzema but looked occasionally vulnerable against Ronaldo and Bale's inside bursts.
Jordi Alba (left back) - 5
A match-up of two speedsters with Bale and he came off second best. Offered little coming forward and was fortunate to see Bale have a header disallowed for a supposed push after being beaten in the air. Also beaten by Bale's cross for the winner.
Ivan Rakitic (midfield) - 7
Forced a good save from Keylor Navas with a left-footed shot in the first half, and delivered the corner for Pique's goal. A classy performance and the team deteriorated when he was replaced by Arda Turan.
Sergio Busquets (midfield) - 6
An unflappably calm presence in the centre of midfield when Barca were on top, with his precise and unfussy passing keeping his team's rhythm. But found himself overrun in the latter stages as Madrid grew in strength.
Andres Iniesta (midfield) - 6
Some typically wispy runs from the dribbling wizard, who also had a powerful shot blocked by Ramos in the first half. But he was rarely able to penetrate the visiting defence and declined in influence as the game went on.
Lionel Messi (right wing) - 7
Played a little deeper and more centrally than usual but, as always, the Argentine was at the heart of his team's attacking efforts. Came close with two free-kicks, had a penalty appeal waved away and forced a good save with a deftly clipped shot.
Luis Suarez (centre forward) - 5
A night to forget for the Uruguayan, who missed an absolute sitter in the early stages, was shown a yellow card for throwing his arm in Pepe's face and struggled to get much change out of Pepe and Ramos.
Neymar (left wing) - 6
Made a very strong start, setting up early chances for Suarez and Iniesta, also curling a tough chance well over the bar. But he faded badly after the break and was regularly caught in possession in a weak second half showing.
Substitutes
Arda Turan (for Rakitic) - 5
Introduced for Rakitic but made little impact, with Barca losing control of the contest after he appeared. Had a late half-chance to level but saw his shot blocked.
Real Madrid
Keylor Navas (goalkeeper) - 7
The Costa Rica international has been outstanding this season after his club's botched attempt to sign David de Gea in the summer, and he delivered again here with two outstanding diving saves to deny Rakitic and Messi.
Dani Carvajal (right back) - 6
Was booked early for a lunge on Iniesta and initially struggled badly against Neymar. But he responded well to finish the game strongly, playing a role in the winner by feeding Bale.
Sergio Ramos (centre back) - 7
Sent off in the latter stages after being booked for dissent and a foul on Suarez, but still played a full part with a committed and physically fearless performance. Made one great last-ditch challenge on Messi, prompting calls for a penalty that were rightly turned down.
Pepe (centre back) - 7
The Portuguese powerhouse largely performed with resilience and determination to frustrate Suarez, but he was lucky to get away with a poor hashed clearance in the first half which resulted in Rakitic forcing a good save from Navas.
Marcelo (left back) - 6
Was overworked in defence initially but slowly became more of an attacking force as the game went on, acting as the catalyst for the equaliser with a driving run to find Kroos. Appears to be blessed with never-ending supplies of energy.
Luka Modric (midfield) - 6
Maybe lucky to escape an early booking for a foul on Busquets as his frustration at Barca's dominance became evident. But he never stopped working for his team and performed tidily in the second half.
Casemiro (midfield) - 6
Looked like a rabbit in the headlights during the early stages, when his technical deficiencies were laid bare as a number of passes went astray. But he is in the team for his defensive abilities and he played a key role in that respect, protecting his back four well.
Toni Kroos (midfield) - 7
Like Modric, he looked overwhelmed in the opening stages and couldn't get near the ball. But, reflecting his team's overall performance, he gradually gained strength and delivered the cross for Benzema's equaliser.
Gareth Bale (right wing) - 8
Man-of-the-match performance from the Welshman, who was his team's most dangerous player all night, regularly troubling Barca with his powerful running. Unlucky to see a header disallowed for a supposed push and picked out Ronaldo with a deep cross for the winner. Maybe his best game for the club.
Karim Benzema (centre forward) - 6
Couldn't get involved at all in the first half, barely touching the ball before slicing a glorious chance over the top. Continued to contribute little but rescued another otherwise poor performance with an excellent finish for the equaliser. Substituted soon after.
Cristiano Ronaldo (left wing) - 6
Virtually nothing went right for the Portuguese star, whose frequent attempts to run at the home team defence generally led him down cul-de-sacs. But his frustrating night took a drastic turn for the better when he pounced for the winner, crisply finishing Bale's cross.
Substitutes
Jese Rodriguez (for Benzema) - 6
Came on at a perfect time as Barca were starting to tire, and took full advantage with his fast and direct running contributing to his team's late dominance.
Lucas Vazquez (for Bale)
A late time-wasting sub, with no chance to make an impact.
Cristiano Ronaldo is so wealthy that he finds it difficult to keep up with how much money he has.
The Real Madrid player was named as the world’s most marketable footballer last week, beating Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique. He is also the world’s highest paid footballer, taking home an estimated €21million (£17million) every year.
“I don’t know how much money I have,” he said. “It’s not the money that moves me.
“It’s true that at first it did, when I had nothing.”
The Portuguese sportsman grew up in Funchal, Madeira and says that his family’s financial situation was difficult when he was a child.
“Then I wanted to have money for me and my family because I was raised with nothing, we were very poor. I had no toys or presents at Christmas,” he said.
“I shared the room with my brother and two sisters, and my parents slept in the other room.
“It was a small space, but I don’t feel sorry for myself. Now that things are OK, money’s no longer fundamental.”
You may not think of your smartphone as a computer, but it’s just as much of one as a laptop or desktop. With it come some very typical computer
problems—crashes and freezes. A lot of the time, the fixes to these sorts of issues, while simple, aren’t immediately obvious. The next time your iOS or
Android phone crashes or freezes, try these tips.
Dealing with a stuck iPhone
Force-close a frozen app:
If one app in particular is causing you problems, try force-closing it. To do this on iOS 7, double-tap the
Home button to bring up the app switcher, which Apple calls the multitask bar. Next, scroll left or right unti you can see the frozen app, and swipe up on
the screenshot of the app to “fling” it off your screen. If you’re using iOS 6, tap the Home button to get to the home screen, then double-tap the Home
button to bring up the app switcher. Next, hold your finger down on an app icon for a couple seconds until the icons start wiggling, then tap the red minus
(-) button for the app you want to close.
Restart your phone:
If your iPhone is acting wonky in general, or you can’t even open the app switcher to kill a frozen app, try restarting it. Hold down the Sleep button on
the top of your phone until the red “slide to power off” slider appears. Slide your finger from left to right as instructed, and your phone will power
down. To turn your phone back on, hold the Sleep button for a few seconds until you see the Apple logo on your screen. It will take a minute before your
phone finishes booting up and is ready to use.
Hold your iPhone’s Sleep button for a few seconds, then slide your finger across the red bar to turn your phone off.
Force-restart your phone:
If your phone isn’t responding to your taps or button presses, you may need to force it to restart. Hold down the Sleep button and the Home button
for a few seconds until the Apple logo appears, and your phone will restart. After a few moments, it will take you to the lock screen and be up and running
as usual.
Hold down the Sleep button and the Home button to unceremoniously force your phone to restart.
Reset to factory defaults:
If you have a nagging issue with your phone that won’t go away readily—or if you want a fresh start—you can try reverting your iPhone to factory default
settings. To do so, go to the Settings app, then go to General > Reset and select Reset All Settings. This option will reset your
phone’s settings, but it will preserve any data you have on your phone. If you want to clear off your phone completely and start fresh, select Erase All Content and Settings for that new-out-of-the-box experience.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho did not believe that his team deserved to lose at Everton
Chelsea lost 1-0 at Everton’s Goodison Park yesterday, despite the Blues dominating possession and having 22 efforts on goal.
The visitors looked like the better side and blew a number of chances to find the target, much to the annoyance of boss Jose Mourinho.
Deserved
Chelsea may have had more of the game, but Everton deserved to win the game just for their spirit.
The Toffees produced a typical robust display and took their chance when it arrived. The Merseysider’s defended valiantly and kept out Chelsea’s very costly attack.
Confused
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho seemed to be unable to understand how his side lost the game. The Portuguese boss told Sky Sports: “I don’t know if I have to say we didn’t deserve to lose, or if I should say we deserved to lose.
“We didn’t deserve it (to lose) because we were the best team, because we play the best football, because we dominate the whole game, because we had 21 shots, because we risk everything we could…
“In that sense it is fair to say we deserved to win the game”
“But the other way, a team that has 21 shots, some of them easy shots and easy situations to score and we don’t score and we have a mistake in the last minute of the first half…
“Maybe with that I should say we deserve to lose.”
Underperformed
The Chelsea players underperformed at Goodison Park. Germany international Andre Schurrle missed some gilt-edged chances and did look good enough, while debutant Samuel Eto’o also missed some good chances.
The former-Barcelona star looked very rusty on his first Chelsea appearance and will have to improve his performances to stay in the team. Brazilian centre-back David Luiz looked unable to stay in position and will be exposed against more in-form strikers.
Even last season’s star performer Juan Mata had a quiet game and was substituted. The Spaniard is not yet up to pace with the Premier League and Jose Mourinho obviously does not seem to appreciate his ability.
Quality
Chelsea have had a slow start to the season in terms of performances, but their quality will shine through in the end. Chelsea have too much quality within their squad to carry on underperforming and Everton is a tough place to visit for opposition teams, even for such expensively assembled teams.
Ideas
Jose Mourinho is still trying to re-instil his ideas into his players. There is no doubt that the Portuguese boss needs time to get it right again at Stamford Bridge. This is not his team and certain players do not seem to fit in with the former-Real boss’ football ideas.
Juan Mata is a great player, but it seems that Mourinho does not see him as his sort of player. He may feel that the playmaker slows the game down at times and wants Chelsea to play at a higher tempo.
The signing of Willian seems to point to the fact Mourinho wants more pace within his team. Chelsea already had a stockpile of players capable of playing in the attacking midfield roles, yet Mourinho went out and brought in another one.
Stockpiled
This sounds like a strange thing to say, but Chelsea may just have too many players, especially in the attacking midfielder area. That means a constant rotation of the three attacking midfielders behind the lone striker.
The attacking midfielders will then not be able to build up any form, because they will never get a decent run of form in the team. Mata needs games to build up fitness and to hit top form. It seems that Mata could be the player that is left out of the team most out of the attacking midfielders.
Open
The race for the Premier League title is really open this season, but even after this defeat Chelsea remain one of the favourites, because of Mourinho’s presence in the Chelsea dugout and quality within the squad.
I have no doubts that results will improve under the Portuguese. This was probably a blip, but performances will have to improve if Chelsea are going to be successful this season.
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