Monday 17 October 2022 – 21:14
By Ahmed Zahran.
ABU DHABI, 17 October / WAM / The 1-3 defeat to Real Madrid at “El Clasico” cast a shadow over Barcelona and highlighted some of the mistakes made by coach Xavi Hernandez. first for the team in the Spanish football league this season,
Real Madrid presented a distinguished show at the Clasico, in which they confirmed that the team is highly qualified to defend their title this season because they are the most ready in light of completing their ranks, despite not having closed much business in the summer this year.
The match confirmed that French striker Karim Benzema has regained much of his level after being hit negatively by injury earlier this season, and the player managed to score the team’s first goal leading them to a valuable win. .
The match also showed the clear harmony between the Real Madrid players under the guidance of the great Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, who approached the match in a realistic way and helped him achieve the victory of the season.
On the other hand, Barcelona were not at the required level in this confrontation, even though they beat Real Madrid 4-0 at the same stadium in the Spanish league last season.
Xavi took office in difficult circumstances last season but supported the squad with many players during the transfer period leading up to the current season, more than Real Madrid supported its ranks during the same period.
The real defeat of Barcelona during the Clasico was not the result, but rather the performance that does not in any way indulge the efforts to strengthen and rebuild the team to play leagues at local and European level, knowing that the team suffers a lot in the Champions League. this season, and is seriously threatened by the exit from the first round (group stage) for the European Championship.
Yesterday’s defeat at the Clasico coincided with Xavi’s 50th game since he took office on 6 November 2021.
And the Spanish newspaper “Marca” indicated that, despite Xavi’s indisputable skills and abilities, the numbers and statistics put him in a bad position because he has become the worst record among coaches who have been with the team for at least 50 games for a long time.
He explained that 50 games in less than a year saw 28 wins, 11 draws and 11 losses for Barcelona, led by manager Xavi, who led the team in 37 games last season and 13 this season in various tournaments.
Xavi’s record in these 50 games is close to that provided by Dutchman Frank Rijkaard at the helm of Barcelona, but Rijkaard remains slightly better during his first 50 games with Barcelona, while Luis Enrique is still the best record holder in his first 50 games with the team with 42 wins and 3 draws and 5 losses.
Josep Guardiola and Argentine Tata Martino scored 37 wins, 8 draws and 5 losses in their first 50 games with the team, while Dutchman Ronald Koeman, who took the lead before Xavi, scored 33 wins, 7 draws and 10 defeats in the first 50 games with The group.
And the Spanish newspaper indicated that what mitigates the squad’s poor results with Xavi is that the former Spanish star took office months after Argentina’s Lionel Messi left the squad.
And the Spanish media indicate that the mistakes made by Xavi in his selection of the squad contribute to the most important role in these poor results.
For example, Xavi still insists on pushing player Sergio Busquets despite the apparent drop in his level in recent weeks, and the first goal revealed Busquets’ lack of speed and strength, which helped Toni Kroos pass for the goal, and Busquets also made a positioning error which contributed to Valverde’s score. Barcelona’s second goal and performance did not improve until Busquets exited in the 60th minute.
Xavi also benched the talented Jaffe until the 60th minute of the match, although he is the most physically ready, as evidenced by the improved performance after the player entered as a substitute.
Furthermore, Barcelona’s danger began to manifest itself after the arrival of strikers Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati, but time did not help them adjust the score, even though Torres scored a face-saving goal for Barcelona.
Aside from Clasico’s match, the ninth round of this week’s Spanish league saw more than a distinct number, led by Cristian Stuani’s 1-1 draw, scored for Girona against Cadiz, becoming the most delayed equalizer. of any La Match of La Liga, as it came in the 12 ‘Dai overtime to meet.
Awad Mokhtar / Ahmed Zahran / Zakaria Mohieldin
