Real Madrid vs Barcelona: El Clasico in fear

The shock of the 0-3 defeat in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final is still fresh in the mouth. Madrid people have not yet swallowed this pain, they do not want - or rather they are afraid to endure another pain. And it is too much.

Perhaps Real Madrid has never had such a difficult season. Since Zidane left the coaching bench, they have changed 2 coaches but everything is still very temporary, Real is still erratic and struggling with crisis. Football, as often said, is a game of the collective, of 11 players on the field.

But with Real that doesn't seem to be true. When Ronaldo left, the team didn't just lose a good player, it seemed like they lost half of their fighting spirit and desire to win. They lost matches without understanding why and, more ironically, Real's attack couldn't score any goals.

This weekend, Real Madrid will once again face Barca at the Bernabeu, this time in the second leg of La Liga. Photo: Marca

In 25 La Liga matches, Real's best striker Karim Benzema has only scored 11 goals. This modest number never existed when Ronaldo was around, whether he was in high spirits or in a bad mood, including seasons when he was injured and banned due to punishment. That shows how important Ronaldo is.

And what's more frightening is that on the other side of the battle line, Lionel Messi has scored 25 goals in just 23 appearances, and even their number 2 striker Suarez has scored 16 goals.

This season, Real and Barca have met 3 times. Real scored 2 goals and Barca scored 9 goals. Real only got 1 draw (1-1) at Camp Nou in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, the rest of the matches they lost with scores that could not "raise their heads" (1-5) in the first leg of La Liga and (0-3) in the most recent match at home. Looking at these scores, who can believe this is El Clasico, the match known as the most exciting in the world?

Head-to-head history statistics

And looking at these statistics, people realize that what Madrid people fear is completely grounded. How can they not be afraid when all the indicators show that they are far behind their arch-rival Barcelona.

But the voice of history is different, it is not that scary. Before the second leg of round 26 of La Liga on March 3, the two teams have met 241 times, the interesting thing is that the number of wins of the two teams is equal: 95 matches and 51 draws. That means that in the early morning of next Sunday, whichever team wins will officially take the lead in the race of hundreds of years of hatred.

Although they are 9 points behind their opponents in the rankings, and with this form, Real will have a hard time competing for the championship this season. But this match is not about the championship, and even less about 3 points. This is a match about pride. And just a win can solve all of Real's problems. People will forget the previous defeats, no matter how disastrous, and who knows, the crisis will also fade away.

And in the end, no matter the circumstances, this match is worth watching. Because it is not only a match between the two most successful clubs in La Liga history, but also a match between the two biggest cities in Spain, a civil war between Spanish nationalism and Catalan separatism. Any victory by either team becomes a feast for what it represents.

Real Madrid vs Barcelona - Round 26 La Liga - 2:45 a.m. Sunday, March 3, 2019

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