Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey on Wednesday and essentially left Barcelona without a trophy in the 2013-14 season. Here are five takeaways from the big game.
1. Bale prevails over Neymar
In the first Clasico earlier this season, most commentators noted that Neymar was the better signing of the two major purchases of the summer. Gareth Bale had been injured for most of the season up to that point and his performance in that Clasico was a disaster. The team looked better without him and everyone felt that Madrid had made a huge mistake. Meanwhile Neymar starred in that game and carried Barcelona on his shoulders.
The second Clasico showcased two players that were not particularly important in the outcome; Neymar did have a major influence when Sergio Ramos fouled him, but aside from that he was useless.
In the biggest Clasico however, Bale put on the show that many expected from him when Madrid signed him. He created a plethora scoring chances throughout the game and it seemed inevitable that he would score at some point. He did score moments prior to Barcelona's equalizer but it was ruled off. And score he did. He ran down the left side around Marc Bartra and then shot it past Jose Manuel Pinto to essentially clinch the trophy for Madrid. It was his 20th goal of the season and his biggest yet.
Meanwhile Neymar had a chance to tie the game and wound up hitting the post. In the final Clasico of the season, the roles had been fully reversed.
2. Messi continues his disappearing act
The Argentine superstar has struggled in the last three games and one has to wonder if he is injured at this point. He was particularly disinterested in this match and rarely looked dangerous. He was often found on the right wing where he did little to help his team. He has been injured for most of the year and one has to question whether there are some lingering ailments for the Argentinean. He simply does not look like the superstar everyone has come to expect.
3. Real Madrid missed Cristiano Ronaldo
Madrid won the match, but they almost hurt themselves. The team had a number of chances to put this game away earlier. With Ronaldo there should be no doubt that the team would have scored earlier and more often. Bale made up for it, but it will be interesting to see if this team looks as dangerous in the first leg against Bayern Munich without its star player.
4. Barcelona's defense is in shambles
This game was very similar to the Atletico Madrid game last Wednesday. Los Cules passed the ball around but were susceptible on the counterattack. If not for poor finishing from Madrid, this game could have easily been 3-0 by the time Barcelona scored the tying goal. In fact Madrid had scored a second goal but it had been blown off due to a collision between Pinto and Bale. This team looks beatable right now. The defense has no presence in the box due to a lack of size and the defense's lack of speed was clearly exploited by Bale on the winning game. The goaltending is another major issue as Pinto was at fault for both goals scored on him.
5. Barcelona's tiki taka is no longer effective
Barcelona struggled to get possession early on in the game and even when they had the ball they were quick to give it away. The first goal for Madrid was the result of poor decisions with the ball in the middle of the pitch. Andres Iniesta looked solid early on but slowly disappeared. Shockingly, he was the only player running into open space and looking for the open player. The remainder of his teammates was simply tossing the ball horizontally and backward; Barcelona simply looked unimaginative and was unable to penetrate Madrid's line in the first half. The team played with better tempo at the start of the second, but the side lacked the creativity to break down Madrid.
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