The goal that changed everything and Rodrygo as a secret weapon

Madrid’s goal just before the break marked the before and after the game. Barcelona dominated the first half and kept a safe control of the game thanks to the balance with which they defended and attacked. The whole team together, without distancing. The first goal was the key to what happened later in the game.

Barcelona lost everything they did well after the break. He stopped being together, was in a hurry and looked very nervous. If Madrid runs, you’re dead. When Vinicius, Rodrygo and Benzema have space, no one solves better. If only one runs, nothing can happen, if two do it, it creates some danger, and if all three do it, you are lost. They crush you very easily. The first goal gave Madrid a lot of peace, it took all the pressure off them when they entered the game, because they knew they had to score.

With the second goal, Barcelona breaks as a team. He does not assimilate the shot or the result. He breaks, both in attack and in defense. When he is used to closing the opponent in his area, based on short passes, crushing the ball, he changes to try to use a medium or long pass and finish the game quickly. We are going for a more direct game, completing actions in four or five seconds. That’s not his game and at the end he also created an imbalance in the defensive work when he ran out without the ball.

In Madrid, I would highlight Camavinga, who played a great game, but above all, I prefer what Vinicius and Rodrygo generate. These are two football players who unbalance the matches. Araujo had help to try and stop Vini, and Rodrygo, although less visible in front of the gallery, is a very intelligent player. If you watch the game again, you will notice how he oscillates in his position, how he changes it, so that he loses control of his marker, that people lose sight of him. With these continuous movements, he loses control of the opposing defense and also helps Benzema to find spaces that are lethal.