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What has happened for Real Madrid to be 12 points behind Barcelona?

154 days. This is the time that has elapsed between the first League Clásico of the season (matchday 9) and the blow dealt in the last battle to prevent the eternal rival from re-engaging in the fight. Comeback on the green Camp Nou… and in LaLiga. the men of Xavi Hernandez have been able to go around a complex labyrinth, created by Real Madrid, after leaving the Santiago Bernabeu on October 16, keeping as a memory a 3-1 in the suitcase and with a three-point difference in the standings.

Listen to number 2 of ‘Expediente Negreira’:

The algorithm designed by FC Barcelona was simple but effective: never go back through a passageway that has led you to a room for the first time unless there is no alternative. The Barça team visited the most inhospitable area of ​​the domestic tournament and decided to change course to take a perspective from afar. The art of flexing from a distance has led them to a separation, which LaLiga practically sentences, of 12 points.

Ancelotti: “We didn’t win because of an offside of which we still have doubts”

A different story is the one that Carlo Ancelotti has had to live through. What has happened to his team in this round? They asked him as soon as he sat down in the press room. “Simple. They have had more continuity than us”the Italian coach responded concisely. BRAND He has wanted visit the epicenter of the white earthquake to try to understand the reasons for a downturn that has shaken LaLiga: What has happened for Real Madrid to be 12 points behind Barcelona?

What the World Cup took…

It was hard for us in January because after the World Cup it was hard for us to get in good shape. Now we are very well and we are going to finish the season well”, the Italian attributes to a Qatar World Cup that has ended up taking its toll on Real Madrid. Before the World Cup he was two behind Barça and now he is 12 points away.

  • Points since LaLiga returned after the World Cup (12 games)
  1. Barcelona 31
  2. Atlético 27
  3. Royal Society 22
  4. Betis 21
  5. Real Madrid 21
  6. Celta 21
  7. Villarreal 20
  8. Sevilla 17
  9. Cadiz 17

the white set is suffering the consequences of this unusual situation that has been experienced in world football this season: three defeats and three draws in the League. The iron fist with which he dominates competitions outside of Spain (Champions League and Club World Cup) collides with the irregularity that has led him to get off the train that carries league dreams. If we only add the points obtained after the World Cup, Real Madrid would march fifth in the standings behind Betis, Real Sociedad, Atlético and Barcelona. But the World Cup not only took points… it also left footballers behind: physically, many are the players who have acknowledged feeling more fatigued at this point in other seasons due to the load of games, travel and not having rest. A mental fatigue that has ended up taking its toll.

Fall of the second line

When things go wrong, the debate on the need for a pure ‘9’ returns to its place of origin. Karim Benzemawho is not going through his best physical or mental moment, has not been able to recover a competitive rhythm that made him conquer the Golden Ball. However, his numbers after the World Cup, which he could not play but forced to try to reach, could lead to confusion: 13 goals and 4 assists divided between the League, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup. His downturn in football rather since the French ‘9’ is not the same as last season. It is not fine and the team misses the clarity that the striker generates when he makes his teammates play. Matching the huge campaign he carried out last year is essential… but it’s not close either.

The details of Benzema’s celebration: the sequence of the goal against Athletic

The fall of the second white scoring line has meant that the French striker has had to shoulder all the responsibility for the goal. Soccer players like Vinicius, Rodrygo and Asensio, who last season participated, either assisting or scoring, in many of the goals scored by Ancelotti’s men, have considerably lowered their figures this season.

  1. Vinicius: 8 goals and 4 assists.
  2. Asensio: 5 goals and 3 assists.
  3. Rodrygo: 4 goals and 5 assists.

Besides, there is not a substitute of guarantees in the position of the ‘9’ and Valverde has become the only footballer who has managed to increase his numbers compared to last season: 7 goals and two assists.

Positions that need restructuring

Changing the way a certain thing is structured or organized. This is the definition that the RAE uses to understand the meaning of what the Real Madrid squad may need: a restructuring to be more regular in LaLiga. A long competition that rewards that basic principle in the world of football: the regularity or the sacrifice of maintaining the greatest number of days without failing.

left side It is the position in which Carlo Ancelotti has had to squeeze his head the most to try to find a solution: Praise, Mendy, Camavinga, Nacho… and even Rüdiger had to acclimatize to this position Last season. But it is not the only one, Benzema has no real competition and only Rodrygo has taken Karim’s place, in his absence due to injury or protection, on the pitch. alvaro rodriguez He is the only alternative on the bench and he missed the Clásico due to the accumulation of cards after seeing the fifth with Castilla in the ‘final’ against Deportivo. In addition, the debate on the right side does not finish balancing all its pieces after the last performances of Carvajal or Lucas Vázquez. The midfield is the only oasis in the white scheme and the large number of possibilities available to the Italian coach It allows you to supply the energies to the indicated players.

Bleeding away from home… and without fear at home

Football does not lie and neither do the data. The white team has bled to death this season as a visitor after losing 4 games (Rayo Vallecano, Villarreal, Mallorca and Barcelona) and drawing one (Betis). Fourteen points are those that the team led by Carlo Ancelottti has left along the way…for the six that Barcelona have lost in their games away from the Camp Nou. A too big difference to try to fight in the conquest of LaLiga.

However, more worrying could be the final analysis of the matches played in the Santiago Bernabeu. Fewer points have been lost along the way… but it has always been said that to win a League the first thing you have to achieve is to be strong at home. Scare opponents every time they try to grab loot that should be unfeasible for them before they even step onto the pitch. Real Madrid have let 8 points escape at home after signing 4 draws (Osasuna, Girona, Real Sociedad and Atlético) and although they don’t know defeat at home… the eternal rival has also lost fewer points at the Camp Nou: only two draws (Espanyol and Rayo Vallecano).

The good work of Barcelona

On the other side, We have been able to enjoy an impregnable Barça in the League with 49 goals for and only 9 against in 26 games played. The Barça team have 19 clean sheets so far in the competition to once again become the reliable team of a few seasons ago in the domestic tournament.

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