Clasico preview: Barcelona vs Real Madrid Copa del Rey


copa del rey clasico 2013
Barca should be more than focused tonight if they do not want any upsets in the first minutes of the match against Real Madrid – something that has become customary in the recent clashes between Barca and Jose Mourinho’s team.

In recent clasico matches Real Madrid have begun the games with a lot of energy, force and high intensity, trying to surprise Barca early on in the match by trying to pressurize them.

On the other hand, Barca has cbeen slow to get into the matches against Madrid these last two seasons. The Catalans usually need a few minutes to pick up the pace after seeing off the initial avalanche by Madrid.

The numbers speak for themselves. In seven of the last ten clasico matches, Real Madrid opened up the scoring and thus conditioning the rest of the game, forcing Barca to make a comeback. Furthermore, the three victories of Real Madrid under Jose Mourinho out of 15, the whites scored first.

Thanks to a goal from Cesc in the 55th minute of the first leg of La Copa del Rey, the usual dynamics of the match were broken. Barca could have sentenced the match but paid dearly with Varane equaling the scores with five minutes left on the clock. In the last four clasicos, it was Madrid who drew first blood.

In the five previous clasicos, Real Madrid also went ahead three times. Ozil scored to make it 1-0 in the 13th minute in the first leg of the Supercup 2011/12, which ended in a draw (2-2).

Some months later, Karim Benzema scored one of the fastest goals ever on 22 seconds in the 2011/12 season after a bad pass from Valdes with Barca eventually winning 1-3.

Barely a month later, Cristiano Ronaldo found the back of the net in the 11th minute in the first leg of the quarter-finals of La Copa. The Catalans also came back to win the match by 2 goals to 1 and today the value of the away goal can be the key to this match. The aim of the Catalan club is clear for tonight’s clash: to finish tonight’s game without letting Valdés be beaten after this bad patch of 11 games letting in goals.

About James

I'm a Barcelona fan through and through and I love this club! I combine writing articles about FC Barcelona with video editing.

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  1. win win win Barcelona

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