Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 0:4 in the King's Cup, Benzema scored a hat trick (Sport 1)
"Now imagine it's the Champions League," Carlo Ancelotti told his players in the dressing room before the Clasico second leg at Camp Nou.
Or maybe he didn't say - it is not known what was the content of the Italian coach's motivational speech, but in the bottom line it was a performance that Real Madrid is used to providing in that factory in recent times.
In Europe the whites can fall behind and even be in an almost impossible situation, but are always able to overcome all the troubles and win.
On the other hand, Real has not won the King's Cup since 2014, while in the Clasico it has already managed to lose in three different frames this year.
To be honest, only the Super Cup fiasco was justified and decisive.
Barcelona won 1:3 in January with Gabi's big performance, and Karim Benzema's goal in injury time felt particularly bleak.
In the first game of the cup semi-final, Barca presented Bunker, threatened the goal only once, and even then they were helped by a lot of luck when the ball splashed into the net from the foot of Eder Militao, but it was enough to achieve 0:1 because the host was not purposeful at all.
The league battle at Camp Nou, just two and a half weeks ago, could have gone either way, but Marco Asensio's goal was disallowed for a tiny difference, Frank Casilla scored in added time and the title fight was decided.
The Catalan side simply showed vinarity, so yesterday it was Real's turn to do it in style.
Real Madrid played like it was the Champions League (Photo: GettyImages)
For starters, Ancelotti bet on a more attacking team than usual.
It was natural, and in the first half Real were almost punished for it, but the bottom line is it worked phenomenally.
Rodrigo Lahat on the right wing, Federico Valverde was shifted to the center of the field for this purpose and Eduardo Camabinga was moved to the left back position where he excelled as usual.
In practice, the latter participated in the construction of the attacks, Uruguay was very dominant in quick transitions and, on the other hand, Barca had a very difficult time controlling the two Brazilians.
Because if Rodrigo was excellent, it's hard to find a word in the lexicon that would define Vinicius' ability.
After a tremendous year in 2022, one gets the impression that he may upgrade his performance even more in 2023.
Vinicius was once accused of instability and poor decision-making.
Today he hardly makes a mistake, especially when going on explosive attacks where his speed and vision of the game make him an unstoppable player.
Such was the case when Real raced forward in injury time in the first half.
It was supposed to be a Robert Lewandowski goal, but Thibaut Courtois deflected the kick, and a few seconds later the ball was already in Marc-Andre ter Stegen's net.
Rodrigo started the move, but Vinicius was his heart.
He took the ball forward, perfectly timed it to Benzema, slowed his run just in time to receive the pass back and found himself free and happy in front of the German keeper.
In the fateful league match, it was Sergi Roberto who equalized 1:1 just before the halftime whistle, and this timing is critical.
This time Real did not go down to the dressing room and Barca simply did not recover from the blow after the break.
In general, the fact that the Catalans rarely concede in the league this season is very welcome in itself, but means that they are not used to falling behind.
And maybe they were able to recover from Ronald Araujo's own goal in the Clasico in the league, but in principle the absorptions lead to the loss of balance in the rear, as happened for example in the fateful 3:3 against Inter in the Champions League.
This time the breakdown was magnificent, and almost every Real attack became a real danger.
More in Walla!
Strategic location, spectacular view and luxurious apartments: the intriguing neighborhood being built in the center
In collaboration with Aora Real Estate
Karim Benzema gave a concert (Photo: GettyImages)
And it was a concert for Benzema, who felt the same at Camp Nou as he did when he dismantled Valladolid on Sunday.
It is a great honor to be the first Real player to score an away hat-trick in a Clasico since Franz Puskas in 1963, and the Frenchman achieved it with ease.
The ending after a sweeping breakthrough by Luka Modric in the 50th minute was perfect, Real took the lead in the summation of the two games, forced the opponent to neglect the defense even more, and had a great time.
She was helped, of course, by a very unnecessary foul by Cassia on Vinicius in the area - and thus the hero in the previous classico became one of the tragic characters in the new classico.
The part of the Brazilian himself, who wisely changed the direction of the run, was important - and then Vinicius continued the momentum to arrange more situations for his friends.
Substitute Marco Asensio's well-taken shot was saved by Ter Stegen, and it only underlined the Spaniard's misfortune in what could be the last El Clasico of his life - he is coming close to leaving without fulfilling his spectacular potential.
In contrast, an almost identical pass from Vinicius was skilfully converted into a goal by Benzema, which only emphasizes his superiority.
He did not score in the two previous meetings with Barca, so now the appropriate compensation has arrived.
continues the upward trend.
Vinicius (Photo: GettyImages)
The 0:4 was also a form of revenge for the defeat that Barcelona inflicted on Real Madrid a year ago, at the end of March 2022. There was also a 0:4 at the Santiago Bernabeu in October 2015 that marked the end of Rafa Benitez's career as a coach with Florentino Perez, although the president then dictated the lineup.
In general, Real have had many El Clasico victories over the past few years, but the high scores have always been Barcelona's.
You have to go back to 2008 to remember the last time Real scored a fourth against the Blaugrana - 1:4 by Bernd Schuster over Frank Rijkaard from goals by Raul, Arjen Robben, Gonzalo Higuain and Rod van Nistelrooy.
Five?
It last happened in 1995, with 0:5 which was the perfect response to Barca's 0:5 the year before.
The quintet has a special meaning in El Clasico, of course, and the term "manita" has been most defining since the 5-0 in November 2010 that had a profound effect on Jose Mourinho's career.
Xavi then scored the first goal, and yesterday he was afraid of the opponent's "Manita" while sitting on the bench.
So in the last minutes, Real tried to score the fifth goal, and Barcelona mainly tried to prevent it.
Ansu Fati, who did almost nothing up front, was yellow carded in injury time to prevent a breakout and there was considerable symbolism in that.
The quintet was avoided, and this was the only positive news for the host on the gloomy evening.
On the other hand, the championship is still on the safe way to the Camp Nou, and Catalonia would rather concentrate on that than cry over the loss of the opportunity to win the double.
At Real, its own double is still possible.
She will face Osasuna in the cup final, hoping to lift the trophy for the first time since Gareth Bale's gallop past Marc Barterra in the 2014 Classic final.
In addition, most of the attention will now be directed to the Champions League, and in this arena there are no competitors for her wineries.
The comeback against Barca yesterday may strengthen self-confidence for the meetings against Chelsea in the quarter-finals, and this is the most important task for Benzema, Vinicius and Courtois.
sport
world football
Spanish league
Tags
Barcelona in football
Real Madrid
