Tactical Breakdown Shows Two Key Reasons Behind Real Madrid's First-Half Collapse vs. Barcelona

Tactical Breakdown Shows Two Key Reasons Behind Real Madrid's First-Half Collapse vs. Barcelona

  • A Ghanaian coach has explained the two main reasons for Real Madrid's poor show in the first half vs Barcelona
  • Despite a great start to the Supercopa final against Barcelona, Carlo Ancelotti's side conceded four goals, ending the first half 1-4
  • The triumph in Saudi Arabia marked a historic moment, as Barcelona scored at least four goals in back-to-back Clasicos for the first time

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Real Madrid's disastrous first half against Barcelona in the Supercopa final saw them concede four goals, trailing 4-1 by halftime despite an early lead.

Los Blancos took an early lead in the El Clasico clash in Saudi Arabia, courtesy of Kylian Mbappe.

Tactical Breakdown Shows Two Key Reasons Behind Real Madrid's First-Half Collapse vs. Barcelona
Despite a great start to the Supercopa final against Barcelona, Carlo Ancelotti's side conceded four goals in the first half. Photo: Yasser Bakhsh.
Source: Getty Images

However, the Catalan giants quickly turned the game on its head, storming to a 4-1 lead by halftime with goals from Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Alejandro Balde.

The nightmare continued for Real in the second half as Raphinha added his second before Rodrygo scored a consolation goal to make it 5-2.

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Ghanaian coach Maxwell Gizo has analysed the game, identifying two critical factors that contributed to Los Blancos' defensive meltdown.

"Ancelotti's initial strategy relied on quick counterattacks, which worked well early on, even compensating for the lack of defensive effort from Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. Real Madrid capitalized on this approach to score the opener," the tactician explained.

"However, their first attempts to press higher up the pitch exposed significant gaps in the center of the field, leading directly to Barcelona's equalizer."

The second issue highlighted by the KofCity FC coach was the vulnerability of Real Madrid's makeshift defensive duo of Aurelien Tchouameni and Lucas Vazquez.

"Even before the match, this pairing offered little assurance defensively, and their lack of cohesion was evident throughout the first half," the expert added.

With these glaring issues exposed, Carlo Ancelotti faced a daunting task at halftime to address the defensive frailties and restore balance to his side.

Read also

Vinicius Jr caught fighting back tears as he watched El Clasico final minutes from the bench

The tactical shortcomings underline the need for adjustments to avoid similar collapses in future high-stakes encounters.

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Source: AFP

Authors:
Isaac Darko avatar

Isaac Darko (Sports Editor) Isaac Darko is a Sports Editor at Yen, boasting over 10 years of experience in the media industry. He has produced award-winning TV shows such as "Football 360" and "Sports XTRA" on ViaSat 1/Kwese TV. Isaac began his career as an Assistant Producer at TV3 Ghana Limited (Media General) and also contributed as a Writer and Weekend Editor for Pulse Ghana. He earned his bachelor's degree in Communication Studies from the Ghana Institute of Journalism (now University of Media, Arts and Communication). Email: isaac.darko@sportsbrief.com.

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