The latest edition of El Clásico had a lot on the line. For Barcelona, a win would cut Real Madrid’s lead at the top of La Liga to five points with six matches to be played—giving Barça at least a slight chance of perhaps going on to overhaul their arch-rivals from the capital. As for Real, it was an opportunity to deal the finishing blow in the title race; a win would extend their lead over Barça at the top of La Liga to an almost-insurmountable margin of 11 points.
It took less than six minutes for Barça to open the scoring; Andreas Christensen found the net via a header from Raphinha’s corner. Real would then equalize via a controversial penalty earned by Lucas Vázquez, who was brought down in the box by Pau Cubarsí. Against the belief of many who felt that Vázquez baited the contact by Cubarsí, the referee handed Real a penalty kick which Vinícius duly converted.
After the half-time break, Barça retook the lead when substitute Fermín López finished off the follow-up after Andriy Lunin saved Lamine Yamal’s initial shot. This, however, would be matched four minutes later—this time around, it was Vázquez himself who scored. As the match entered stoppage time and it looked as though a draw would be on the cards, Jude Bellingham scored Real’s winning goal, adding another highlight to his Ballon d’Or case.
Barça, on the other hand, capped off a truly miserable week after having been knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain—and that too after somehow being “Remontada”’d by the Champions League’s perennial choke artists. In general, this entire season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Blaugrana. They’re even at risk of losing second place in the league to fellow Catalan club and this season’s surprise package Girona.
Perhaps the most obvious point of note pertaining to Barça’s failures this season has been their struggles in the transfer market. Largely as a result of the club’s financial difficulties, the only off-season signing that Barça made who moved the needle even the slightest bit was a 32-year-old İlkay Gündoğan signed on a free transfer from Manchester City.
After what’s happened this season coupled with those financial issues, it will be even more difficult for Barça to bring any major names to Camp Nou in the coming off-season. As of right now, the only player of any note to have been linked with an imminent move to Barça is RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Dani Olmo - but even then, if they were to sign him, he would likely be a replacement for Frenkie de Jong who is expected by many to leave Catalonia in the coming off season; Bayern Munich have reportedly taken much interest in signing the Dutchman.
The club’s lack of clarity over the coaching situation hasn’t helped matters at all. Earlier this season, Xavi said that he would be leaving the Camp Nou dugout after just over two years and a half in charge. However, recent reports indicate that there’s a possibility that he might reverse his decision - and to make matters worse, Barça don’t seem to have any successor in mind.
On top of that, Real are now clearly in Barça’s heads. Barça have now lost back-to-back La Liga El Clásico matches by way of a Bellingham stoppage-time goal. Again and again, Barça have lacked the mental fortitude and resolve to deliver against their arch-rivals while Real have dug deep and found something more within themselves - and that’s arguably the biggest reason why the gap now is as large as it is.
If there’s a silver lining for Barça, however, it has to be the latest products of La Masia. The greatest football academy in the world has done it again - this time via Gavi, López, Pedri, Cubarsí, and of course, Yamal who arguably has future Ballon d’Or potential. However, the “metagame” has changed; these days it’s next to impossible to reach the pinnacle of world football with a nucleus that’s primarily home-grown.
At this point it’s a vicious cycle. Barcelona’s financial issues, lack of stability, inability to attract other top players, and declined overall performance have made them a far less appealing destination. While the next off-season will certainly be crucial, it’s almost certain that for Barça, the road back to the top will be a difficult one indeed.
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