Here are my three thoughts on Real Madrid’s 2-1 win at Barcelona, our Game of the Weekend: • It’s a different game if Sergiño Dest converts his sitter. You hate to put in those terms, but it’s true. The 20-year-old American, playing higher up as a winger, got a wide-open chance in front of the goal with the score at 0-0 in the 25th minute and somehow right-footed it over the bar. For USMNT fans, it was a PTSD situation: An American in a huge game has a sitter in front of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois that he skies over the bar. (Flashbacks to Chris Wondolowski vs. Belgium in World Cup 2014.) The fact is, Dest had a pretty good game otherwise; he cut in and got off a dangerous shot in the second half (similar to the recent goal he scored for the U.S. against Costa Rica), assisted on Sergio Agüero’s late goal to pull one back, and when he moved to right back in the second half defended better against Vini Jr. than anyone would have expected. But people will remember the missed sitter the most, and that’s part of the game.
1) When Memphis plays out wide, the ball gets stuck and then dies at his feet. He doesn't play to Alba on the overlap, which allows defenses to guard Memphis with both the fullback and the defender that is tracking Alba's run. Memphis is also not able to beat defenders in the space between the byline and his shot. He is really much better as a central player who drifts to the corner of the box than he is a player who provides space.
2) On the first Madrid goal, Memphis is the person who was tracking Alaba during the centerback's long run. He went stride for stride with Alaba until about halfway between the 18 and the midfield line, when he simply stopped running. Mingueza wasn't able to catch up and Garcia had already committed to working with Pique on containing Benzema. If Memphis stays with Alaba, it is likely a different story.
3) Madrid did very well playing physically against Barcelona's youngsters, although it was a bit surprising to see Kroos and Vazquez doing that work. Typically, it's Casemiro that is hacking down players (and escaping with just a warning from the referee), but we didn't see that game from him. There just isn't an Arturo Vidal or Jermaine Jones on this Barcelona team that is going to give a player like Vazquez a leg-snapper tackle in retribution.
On your last point, I'm a neutral and I don't view it as depressing that Barcelona is going through a downturn. It's actually going to be healthier for the competitiveness of La Liga to have other clubs take a turn getting a Champions League berth. Think about all of the fanbases in Spain who are now energized by the possibility of having a shot at the same glory that Barca and Real have had to themselves for so long.
When my kid was playing club soccer, the team had a centerback who always wanted to play up top. And every now and then, he’d get set up with a beautiful chance to score into a wide open net. And invariably, he’d miss the net, stick a cleat, or put the ball in orbit. And every time, I’d tease him “Hey, Max, that’s why you play defense!!!” He’d laugh.
That was Dest today. He missed a sitter in their CL game, too. THAT’S why he plays right BACK, not right WING. It’s a shame, too, because as you said, he had a pretty good game otherwise and shut down Vini, who was a real handful in the first half.
Three Additional Thoughts...
1) When Memphis plays out wide, the ball gets stuck and then dies at his feet. He doesn't play to Alba on the overlap, which allows defenses to guard Memphis with both the fullback and the defender that is tracking Alba's run. Memphis is also not able to beat defenders in the space between the byline and his shot. He is really much better as a central player who drifts to the corner of the box than he is a player who provides space.
2) On the first Madrid goal, Memphis is the person who was tracking Alaba during the centerback's long run. He went stride for stride with Alaba until about halfway between the 18 and the midfield line, when he simply stopped running. Mingueza wasn't able to catch up and Garcia had already committed to working with Pique on containing Benzema. If Memphis stays with Alaba, it is likely a different story.
3) Madrid did very well playing physically against Barcelona's youngsters, although it was a bit surprising to see Kroos and Vazquez doing that work. Typically, it's Casemiro that is hacking down players (and escaping with just a warning from the referee), but we didn't see that game from him. There just isn't an Arturo Vidal or Jermaine Jones on this Barcelona team that is going to give a player like Vazquez a leg-snapper tackle in retribution.
On your last point, I'm a neutral and I don't view it as depressing that Barcelona is going through a downturn. It's actually going to be healthier for the competitiveness of La Liga to have other clubs take a turn getting a Champions League berth. Think about all of the fanbases in Spain who are now energized by the possibility of having a shot at the same glory that Barca and Real have had to themselves for so long.
When my kid was playing club soccer, the team had a centerback who always wanted to play up top. And every now and then, he’d get set up with a beautiful chance to score into a wide open net. And invariably, he’d miss the net, stick a cleat, or put the ball in orbit. And every time, I’d tease him “Hey, Max, that’s why you play defense!!!” He’d laugh.
That was Dest today. He missed a sitter in their CL game, too. THAT’S why he plays right BACK, not right WING. It’s a shame, too, because as you said, he had a pretty good game otherwise and shut down Vini, who was a real handful in the first half.
https://thomashewitt.substack.com/p/my-3-takeaways-from-el-clasico