The FC crew delve into the factors that led to Real Madrid’s defeat against Barcelona, finding blame in both the players and the coach.
Luis Saurez stepped up in the absence of Lionel Messi to score a hat-trick in Barcelona’s emphatic 5-1 win over Real Madrid at the Camp Nou.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen believes it’s time for someone in his team to step up in the absence of Lionel Messi, as Barcelona play Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season.
Barcelona’s Sergi Roberto has said he wanted the humiliation of Real Madrid to go on even longer as the Spanish league leaders hammered their rivals 5-1 at the Camp Nou.
A Luis Suarez hat trick, as well as goals from Philippe Coutinho and Arturo Vidal, helped Barca seal their biggest Clasico win since a 5-0 victory in 2010.
And Roberto said afterwards that he was enjoying the match so much that he was disappointed to hear the final whistle.
“Winning a Clasico — and with this kind of result — is the game all Barcelona supporters desire,” Roberto, who joined the club’s academy in 2006, told reporters. “I would have liked the game to go on even longer if it could have.
“We showed up and we were superior to [Madrid], just as the scoreline reflects. We had control of the game, aside from a few minutes at the start of the second half.
“Winning in this way, without the best player in the world [Lionel Messi], strengthens us. Now Leo can rest and focus on his recovery [from a broken arm]. This is the path to follow.”
Madrid got themselves back into the game when Marcelo made it 2-1 at the start of the second half but Suarez’s 75th-minute header, set up by Roberto, ended any hopes of a comeback.
Roberto then set up another goal for Suarez, before Vidal headed home his first for his new club, as Ernesto Valverde’s side ran riot in the final few minutes at Camp Nou.
“Before the game, we watched a video of previous fixtures against Madrid and we saw the assists I’d given Suarez in those matches,” Roberto said. “[Suarez] joked that I didn’t set him up anymore; then I go and set him up two times — although on one of them the ball was actually for [Jordi] Alba.”
Barca’s win keeps them top of the league after 10 games, one point ahead of surprise package Alaves and two clear of Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.
Real, meanwhile, have slumped to ninth in the table with just 14 points. They have already been beaten four times this season and now are without a win in five league games.
The Clasico defeat means boss Julen Lopetegui is expected to be sacked on Monday as a result of the way his team fell apart in the second half, with former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte reported to be his successor.
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