In a round of the League, from the Bernabéu to the Camp Nou, Barça has taken 15 points from Madrid, in addition to beating them in every possible way regardless of the competition. In the Super Cup (January) he took the ball from him and subjected him to a gigantic round that gave Xavi his first title. In the Cup he protected himself without the ball, with a squalid possession (barely 35%) and in the League he surpassed him with the traditional Madrid recipe.
In other words, Barça won epically and at the moment that used to always belong to Sergio Ramos. Already in added time and as Madrid won, so he left him naked, with Guardiola in the box enjoying himself as one more culé. There were 95,745. From October 16 (matchday 9, Madrid leading with +3) to March 19 (matchday 26, Barça leading with +12). The journey of Barça’s resurgence.
Xavi injects extreme competitiveness
It has resisted everything. And all. He has known how to overcome Barça’s defeat at the Bernabéu in October, signing a spectacular reaction that has led him to leave Madrid at 12 points. Twelve, which are actually 15 points because the Barça team came out of their last defeat in a classic, the first leg in the League, with three points less than Ancelotti’s team.
He has resisted everything in the sports field, hit by the sanction of Lewandowski and, above all, due to Dembélé’s injuries, one of his differential factors in attack, and Pedro, the player who gives meaning and cohesion to all his football. And he has survived everything capable of handling himself with extreme competitiveness in the midst of the storm of the case negreirawho has not entered the Camp Nou dressing room.
Champion (and record) numbers
Barça rose with greatness from that defeat in Madrid. Since then, 15 victories, a draw (Espanyol started 1-1) and a single defeat: the 1-0 that Almería endorsed him. 46 points out of a possible 51 reveal the forcefulness of the Barça reaction, which contrasts with the weakness of Madrid, who emitted disturbing signs in their performance just before the League stopped due to the World Cup in Qatar: a draw at home with Girona (1-1) and defeat in Vallecas.
Although Ancelotti did not see what would happen after the Qatari event coming with three defeats in three months (Villarreal, Mallorca and Barça) together with three draws (Real Sociedad, Atlético and Betis) that certified their decline in the League. He has only added 31 points out of 45.
Madrid could not follow the devilish rhythm of Xavi’s Barça. His projection is, right now, record. He has 68 points, the same as Tito’s Barça had on this day (2012-13 season) when he reached 100 points.
The defensive structure is the pillar of success
Barça conceded a goal at the Camp Nou, something that is news. Rather, he scored it on his own goal because Vinicius’s center unexpectedly hit Araujo’s head to mislead a surprised Ter Stegen. But the team Xavi He managed, already with Ancelotti’s desperate changes in the final stretch of the classic, to resist defensively. Not only his rear but all his structures.
There is no one in the major European Leagues who presents the superb numbers that the Catalans have in Spain. Nine goals conceded in 26 days; Madrid more than doubled because they have conceded 21. That is being the key to success in the League because since they lost at the Bernabéu last October Ter Stegen has only conceded four goals. He has therefore kept a clean sheet in 13 of the last days. Madrid, in just six.
The valuable contribution of the bench
In moments of maximum difficulty, and with the key pieces of Barça in the infirmary, Xavi has successfully used the resources he had on the bench. In Dembélé’s long absence, Raphinha has raised his figure with a decisive role (two goals, one against Valencia, another against Athletic, six points). And while waiting for Lewandowski to reconcile with the goal, Pedri was scoring so many keys until he was injured and the team was left in the dark.
Even the commitment to Sergi Roberto, symbolized in the Camp Nou League classic, worked out wonderfully for him because he scored the equalizer, setting the Culé atmosphere on fire. And proof that the squad, absolutely unbalanced (it does not have a specific right-back and Xavi has up to three left-backs), has been invaluable.
It is enough to see the irruption of Kessié, who signed the decisive goal to enter the memory of Barcelona. Substitutes who have given points in this decisive stretch of the championship to widen the difference to 12. And there are only 12 games left.
“We can’t feel like champions. But this League can only be lost by us”, proclaimed a euphoric Xavi, who raised his voice to launch a message of protest. “It’s time to value this team.” A team that has taken 15 points from Madrid in just five months. In half league. And he has made it his.