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Real Madrid is being overshadowed by the clash between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni. |
Last week, Real Madrid players put in a valiant effort in Catalonia to secure a 2-0 victory against Espanyol. This result was a great consolation as it prevented Barcelona from clinching the championship early, and also avoided the traditional La Liga custom of having to line up and applaud the new champions at Camp Nou.
Despite escaping that high-pressure ritual, the Spanish royal club is now facing a bigger crisis from within its own ranks ahead of El Clasico.
Cracks in the dressing room
Entering El Clásico, Real Madrid's sense of pride was replaced by a bitter mood. The serious altercation between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, which resulted in the Uruguayan midfielder being hospitalized, was a terrible incident for the club.
However, what hurts Real Madrid fans even more is that this sensitive internal information was leaked in detail to the press by an anonymous source. For a team that always prioritizes image and discipline, the appearance of someone leaking bad information is an unacceptable stain on their reputation.
The situation didn't end there, as rumors of sabotage continued to spread, revealing a negative atmosphere pervading the dressing room. Media reports indicated that Dani Carvajal, Dani Ceballos, and Raul Asencio were among the players in serious conflict with youth team coach Alvaro Arbeloa. Even more notably, star player Kylian Mbappe was rumored to have verbally abused an assistant coach during training simply for being called offside.
Arbeloa was even sarcastically nicknamed "el cono" (the marker) by his own players. All this negative information accumulated at a time when the team was in serious decline in both form and morale.
The club's atmosphere was now as suffocating as a ticking time bomb, where all trust had vanished and any player could be suspected of being the 'black sheep'.
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Real Madrid needs to overcome their grief to beat Barcelona. |
Expect to see the team's character at Camp Nou.
Faced with this dire reality, Real Madrid is desperate for a healing victory. Securing three points against opponents like Oviedo in round 36, Sevilla in round 37, or Bilbao in round 38 will not satisfy the fans. The only way to salvage their pride is a convincing win against Barcelona at their home ground.
If Real Madrid can beat Barcelona and spoil the celebrations at Camp Nou, all the embarrassment in the dressing room will temporarily subside. Then, the team's act of setting aside bitter conflicts to defeat their arch-rival will be seen as an epic feat. However, to achieve that sweet solace, they must face an extremely difficult challenge.
Regardless of the current form of both teams, Barcelona has always been the most troublesome opponent for Real Madrid. Last season, under Hansi Flick, Barcelona displayed overwhelming strength, defeating Real Madrid in all three domestic competitions. Currently, the Catalan team's form is brilliant, like the midday sun, a stark contrast to the lackluster and exhausted state of the visiting team.
Of course, the door to victory isn't entirely closed for the white-shirted team. Fans still have reason to hope if they look back at the first leg earlier in the season. Back then, Real Madrid's stars put aside their differences, played tightly, and created a dominant performance to beat Barcelona 2-1. In that match, Real Madrid showed superiority with an expected goals (xG) metric of 3.63, significantly higher than their opponent's 1.03.
The biggest question now is whether this team has the strength to put aside their egos and recreate that spirit, especially with the availability of Tchouameni and Valverde after the brawl still unconfirmed. Perhaps it's more realistic to expect Real Madrid not to suffer a crushing defeat on the day Barcelona celebrates their championship victory with fireworks.
Source: https://znews.vn/real-madrid-tim-thuoc-chua-lanh-truoc-barca-khac-gi-leo-cot-mo-post1650311.html
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