Hello friends, good vibes to all.

Fuente!

Jorge Valdano, that Argentine striker who was a real killer on the pitch, was the author of this phrase and I could not agree more with those words. I bring it up because of what we have seen this week in the Champions League with both Real Madrid and Barcelona ahead of what will be the classic that will be played on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu. What these two clubs showed us in their respective games, beyond all the technical work that may be behind it, is the ability to have the mentality focused on one goal: to win and arrive as best as possible to the weekend's match. The Culés are probably in better shape than Los Blancos, both in terms of play and injuries, but what Ancelotti's men showed in the second 45 minutes against Dortmund was an outrage.

And let's start there. If there is a team with a capacity to adapt and know how to turn a situation around, it is undoubtedly Real Madrid. That game against Borussia looked to be a real disaster, losing 0-2 at home, playing terribly and knowing that they had also lost the previous game were the ingredients for a catastrophe. But something said that things could change and from the 60th minute onwards that feeling became a reality. Rudiger, Vinicius on three occasions and Lucas Vázquez were responsible for bringing Madrid back to life. Now, merengue merit or German disaster? - A bit of both. The thing is that every Madrid player came out with knives in their teeth to do what they always do, to come back.

Fuente!

Madrid is not playing well, that is a reality, there is an important lack of playmaking in the midfield; there is no one to organize and distribute balls and at the same time there does not seem to be enough pressure on the opponent; with their squad these things should not happen but that is soccer. But despite all this, let's apply the title of this review, call it aura, luck, mentality or spirit; the truth is that Madrid, where there are no chances, always finds a way to overcome them. For me that is mystical, they came out of the locker room with something between their eyebrows and they got it. Does Saturday's game have an influence? - Without a doubt. Careful and that wasn't the real motivation.

We cross over to the other side with a team that last season was aimless and lost. Hansi Flick's Barcelona is a lethal machine compared to the team of a few months ago. The German's philosophy of work, order and seriousness has undoubtedly had an effect on almost all the players in the squad and this is noticeable when they step out onto the field, the body language is different, there is a confidence that was previously lacking. An example of this was yesterday's game against Bayern, a team that had made the blaugranas suffer on several occasions. It was a strange game if you ask me because Barca started winning after 1 minute but it was not a game where we saw a complete domination of the Catalans.

Fuente!

In fact, more than 60% of possession belonged to the Germans, so how do you explain it? - Well, efficiency, forcefulness and yes, an extremely important state of grace. Raphinha scored a hat-trick, the same as his compatriot Vinicius, one goal better than the previous one and obviously being the player of the match. This Barcelona knows what they play, sometimes they risk too much by moving forward, as happened yesterday but that's the way Flick plays. The players are more empowered, there is a better understanding, there is a goal and this indirectly conditions, for the better, the atmosphere in the locker room resulting in the fun that we sometimes see on the field.

I think it will be a great classic, a very evenly matched one even though it may not seem so. It is true that Madrid is in a kind of “crisis” of play but we return to the premise, the mood is everything and more in these important matches. Barcelona comes packed so the energy is at its peak in each of the players. Without having the possession, without having played good soccer in 45 minutes and even more and without being dominant, both clubs scored and enjoyed. Let's hope to see a good show from two players who shone in Europe.

Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡Hugs to all, see you next time!

Posted Using InLeo Alpha