Carlo Ancelotti learned his lesson, and Real Madrid won the “clásico” Sunday.
After an embarrassing 4-0 loss at home to Barcelona last season, the Madrid coach made sure he did not try anything different with his team this time as Madrid won 3-1 to take the lead of the Spanish league.
It also handed Barcelona another painful blow four days after the Catalan club’s hopes of advancing to the Champions League all but ended.
Ancelotti had used midfielder Luka Modric in the “false nine” position in attack last season and Barcelona took advantage to rout Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
“I thought about what happened last season when I tried something different,” Ancelotti said. “For this match, I did not try to come up with anything, I left the players in their positions and Modric played a spectacular match in midfield.”
Karim Benzema and Federico Valverde scored first-half goals, and Rodrygo added another in second-half stoppage time as the defending champions won the first “clásico” of the season to move three points ahead of Barcelona in the league standings. The rivals had entered the match tied on points, with Barcelona ahead on goal difference.
It was Madrid’s sixth win in the last seven “clásicos,” with the only setback the 4-0 result the last time the teams met at the Bernabéu.
Sunday’s defeat was another frustrating setback for Barcelona after they were held 3-3 by Inter Milan at home Wednesday to be virtually eliminated from the Champions League with two rounds left in its group stage.
“We had our chances, but we are going through a bad moment and nothing goes our way,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández said. “We need to change this dynamic as soon as possible.”
Barcelona did not advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League last season, their first without Lionel Messi, but elimination this time would be extra disappointing considering the club went on a spending spree to boost its squad with players such as Roberto Lewandowski and Raphinha.
Lewandowski, the league’s leading scorer, wasted his greatest chance in the first half, missing high from near the goal line.
Barcelona dominated possession and created scoring chances, but it was Madrid who capitalised on their opportunities and took advantage of Barcelona’s defensive struggles.
“We knew how to suffer when they controlled possession, but we were effective up front and scored the three goals,” Modric said.
Benzema opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a shot from inside the area, off the rebound from a save by goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen in a one-on-one situation with Vinícius Júnior. It was Benzema’s first goal in six matches. He also had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half.
Valverde added to the lead with a low shot from just outside the area in the 35th, with Ferran Torres getting a goal back for the visitors in the 83rd.
Substitute Rodrygo sealed the victory for Madrid by converting a penalty kick in stoppage time after being brought down inside the area.
“We are very disappointed,” Barcelona defender Jules Koundé said. “We did not play a bad match but we made mistakes in transition in the first half and they took advantage.”
Madrid were still without injured goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, while Barcelona were also hit by injuries and Xavi had to improvise Koundé as a centre back.
It was Madrid’s eighth win in nine league matches, with their only setback a 1-1 draw at home against Mallorca in the seventh round.
Barcelona, whose only draw had come in the first round against Rayo Vallecano at home, entered the match having conceded only once in eight league matches.
Source: Unitted News of Bangladesh
‘Recognising the Bangladesh Genocide of 1971’: ICSF welcomes US Congress initiative
The International Crimes Strategy Forum (ICSF) has welcomed the resolution “Recognising the Bangladesh Genocide of 1971” introduced in the US House of Representatives.
The resolution is the first of its kind relating to the genocide od 1971 perpetrated in Bangladesh by the Pakistan Army, presented anywhere to any legislative body in the world, the ICSF said in a statement Sunday.
“We laud this initiative from Congressman Steve Chabot and Congressman Ro Khanna for tabling this bi-partisan resolution,” the statement reads.
The ICSF called upon the Bengali/Bangladeshi diaspora around the globe to create the necessary pressure on their respective representatives so that other countries may follow suit and together become a formidable force in securing the global recognition of genocide perpetrated in Bangladesh during 1971.
The forum is an independent global network of experts, justice advocates and organisations committed to ending impunity for international crimes, ensuring justice for the victims of these crimes, and upholding rule of law and human rights.
The ICSF’s work centres on the genocide perpetrated in Bangladesh in 1971 and it is working to obtain global recognition of it.
Source: United News of Bangladesh