(Football news) Barcelona ran riot over League leaders Real Madrid as they won 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. If Barcelona were more clinical in front of goal they would've scored 7 or 8. Thibaut Courtois had a very busy night as he made a lot of saves while Real Madrid practically created nothing at the other end.
Los Blancos were always 2nd favourites before the match because of the absence of Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy but also their rivals were also in great form. Carlo Ancelotti's starting line-up was very questionable to say the least. Despite having the likes of Luka Jovic, Mariano, Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Gareth Bale he went for a 4 man midfield of Luka Modric, Fede Valverde, Toni Kroos and Casemiro with Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr up front. The formation was 4 defenders with Casemiro as a CDM along with Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo as the wingers. Kroos, Modric and Valverde were taking turns as a striker or False 9.
There were times when it was a 4-4-2 with Kroos and Modric as strikers. The system naturally didn't work as Barcelona scored two goals courtesy of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ronald Araujo in the first half. At half time, Ancelotti made his life even worse for his players as he bought on Camavinga as a direct replacement for Kroos along with Mariano for Dani Carvajal. The system was just 3 defenders one on one against possibly 3 of the quickest forwards in the league. The Blaugrana scored twice via Ferran Torres and Aubameyang to make it 4-0 and the home side was lucky to limit the damage.
It was an embarrassment for Real Madrid as Barcelona weren't at their best as Xavi admitted after the game that they were expecting a more difficult contest. Carlo Ancelotti took all the blame and rightly so before apologizing to the fans. Ancelotti will need to do a lot of work in the international break and also hope that Benzema and Mendy regain full fitness. The likelihood is that the result wont have an effect on the league table, Madrid still have a very healthy lead at the top but the confidence factor does come into play.
Benzema is without question important for Real Madrid but not so much that they lose 4-0 to Barcelona in his absence. This game is a worrying sign for Ancelotti who just cannot afford to slip up in the League from this position and his side definitely look 2nd favourites against Chelsea now. The result may force Florentino Perez and the board to question Ancelotti's position after the season even if he wins them the La Liga title.
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