Three takeaways from Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid | La Liga MD35 | OneFootball

The Spotify Camp Nou saw Barcelona crowned the champions of La Liga last night, and Real Madrid ended up as mere shadows in the background, painting a desolate image of what the club has come to.

Entering the game on the back of serious internal politics, not much was expected of Los Blancos against Barcelona last night, and their performance reflected the same.

Barcelona dominated the men in white quite convincingly on the night and created the better chances. In the end, two early goals from Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres were enough to seal the deal.

The game thus marks the end of Real Madrid’s campaign officially, and in the worst way possible as they now exit off a defeat in El Clasico. Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid.

Second best by some distance

Last season, Real Madrid were dominated by Barcelona across all Clasicos and had seemingly vowed to turn that situation around this campaign.

Barcelona were simply the better side. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

The first Clasico of the season saw Real Madrid give a good fight and even win over Barcelona, marking what was assumed to be their comeback. 

They then went on to lose in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, but they did fight on level terms for a great part of that game as well.

Last night, however, made clear that Real Madrid are taking steps in the wrong direction and that their progress has been negative over the course of the season.

After all, they faced a Barcelona sans-Lamine Yamal last night but still came out second best by some significant distance.

They were dominated across the park, and for a long time in the game, seemed to be second fiddle to Barcelona’s brilliance.

Los Blancos’ defence, in particular, was a letdown last night as they continually left far too much space behind them for Barcelona to run into. Truth be told, the hosts could have had at least five goals had they capitalised on Real Madrid’s frailty.

The midfield, moreover, struggled to keep up with Barcelona on a technical level and virtually took the team out of the game, handing the hosts all the impetus.

The attack lets down

Real Madrid’s attack was subpar at best. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

While Real Madrid were indeed second best in midfield and leaky in defence, the attack was where the team grossly underperformed.

With Kylian Mbappe not in the squad, Alvaro Arbeloa decided to start Gonzalo Garcia in attack alongside Vinicius Jr. and Brahim Diaz. Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, started as the attacking midfielder.

All players in the final third, however, severely let the team down with their lack of inspiration in attack. While Barcelona’s defence does deserve credit for effectively neutralising the threat, there is a feeling that Real Madrid should have done better.

Vinicius Jr., despite being in great tough in recent games, struggled against Barcelona and came up second best against Eric Garcia for most of the game. His dribbles lacked inspiration and he did not earn any inroads into the Barcelona box.

Brahim Diaz and Gonzalo Garcia, meanwhile, struggled to get into the right attacking positions and were subpar with their movement off the ball. As a result of both factors, the team lacked incisiveness in the final third.

An official end to the season

Real Madrid have nothing left to play for. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

What the Clasico defeat means for Real Madrid is significant, not only in a cultural sense but also in the overall implications for their season.

For starters, one cannot ignore the fact that Real Madrid officially closed the title race with a defeat to Barcelona at the Spotify Camp Nou – something that has not happened before in history and will thus go down as a black spot in the team’s history.

Further, however, the defeat marks the end of Real Madrid’s season and closes any remaining hope of making a last-gasp charge towards the title.

Now, out of all competitions, Los Blancos are officially trophy-less for the campaign.

The board have already begun planning for the next season, both in terms of the sporting project and the cultural rebuild that is needed within the dressing room.

The remaining games this season for Real Madrid, thus, will be more about the players proving their worth to the management and staking a claim to a place in the squad next season.