So much for the idea that
Real Madrid are going to run away with La Liga. They're not -- not yet, anyway.
And even a win at the Camp Nou and going nine points clear would not have meant
locking up the title just yet.
But
what the 1-1 draw showed (Sergio Ramos' late goal notwithstanding) is that Real
Madrid are very much a team, a compact unit more than capable of going into the
Camp Nou and dominating, physically and tactically. That was the case in the
first half, where Zinedine Zidane's midfield, led by the incomparable Luka
Modric, disrupted Barca's flow at every turn.
In
some ways, it was a re-run of what we saw in recent outings against Real
Sociedad, Malaga and Sevilla. Ivan Rakitic is having a tough time, Andre Gomes
looks out of his depth and if you harass the midfield enough, the MSN doesn't
get regular service. You only need to look at Barca's shots on target in the
first half -- one, and a lame one at that -- to see just how pretty Real Madrid
were sitting.
Of
course, with this much quality, breaks can come at any time and Barca got one
early in the second half, when Neymar's free kick was met by Luis Suarez's header.
It rather reminded you how form can turn at any minute. Neymar still hasn't
scored in open play in La Liga since September; Suarez had scored just once,
for club and country, in November.
To
his credit, Barca boss Luis Enrique must have realized they needed a lift and
so he turned to the guy whose return to fitness was greeted like some sort of
magic pill: Andres Iniesta. It's perhaps understandable that Luis Enrique opted
to keep him on the bench initially: he hadn't actually played in nearly six weeks.
Forcing the saviour tag on him in a Clasico against a side unbeaten in 32 games
seemed a bit over the top. And yet from the moment he took his first touch,
that's how you felt.
Suddenly,
the old fluidity was back. Suddenly, Madrid's midfield press became less
intense: partly a function of the stage of the game, partly (perhaps) out of
respect for his ability to pick apart teams who dare to press. Barcelona strung
together at least three clear chances to put the game away and a lot of it had
to do with the newfound verve in the middle of the park.
The Clasico was there for Barca to take... except
they didn't. Except for that weird, intangible, unquantifiable, maddening (for
others) thing Real Madrid do. They don't go gently into that good night. The
final minutes saw the typical bombardment of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's goal and
on one of those flighted balls, it was Sergio Ramos who met Modric's cross and
headed it home for the equalizer.
There's no rational reason
why Ramos should have scored so many key goals in so many key moments, from the
Super Cup to the Champions League final to this. Maybe it's happenstance and
probability. Maybe it's stardust and voodoo. Who knows? But what you do know is
that if you're a Real Madrid fan, you would have enjoyed it.
It
may not have been the greatest of Clasicos but it had moments of skill and magic
and a dramatic ending. For the neutral, that will do.
In
many ways, there are positives for both Barca and Real Madrid to take home.
With Iniesta on the pitch, this is a different Barca side. Rakitic, Suarez and
Neymar won't stay in their funk forever. And the gap stays at six points, which
is far from ideal, but manageable.
As
for Real Madrid, it's now 33 games unbeaten. The momentum continues, and it
does so without Toni Kroos and Gareth Bale. Zidane is giving this team more
dimensions than some thought they had. It's a grown up side.
Also,
you suspect there may yet be a few twists in this Liga tale.
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