Madrid: that’s almost the way

It was do or die for Real Madrid but sadly for them they did and they died. It was perhaps the best game in Mourinho’s time with Real Madrid and the worst game for Pep Guardiola's since he took charge of the team. Mourinho proved that he’s the most dangerous when he’s against wall. He put almost all his offensive power on the pitch and he almost pulled the upset.

I have never seen Barcelona being dominated at home under Pep Guardiola command. They have lost matches but even then Barcelona was the dominating team. Beyond having a bad day, the main cause was Real Madrid's excellence. They pressed, they passed, and they controlled the ball. This was the Real Madrid that people wanted to see for a long time.

And so, the main question is: why didn’t we see this Real Madrid before? Why didn’t Ozil play the first match? Why did Mourinho choose to give the ball way at home? Why assume the inferior team role when the squad is full of players perfectly fit to create game instead of destroying it?

Only Mourinho has the answers to this. But it is clear that all comes down to the 5-0 lost at Camp Nou last year. Mourinho never digested that defeat. He put those same players and tried to play but Barcelona was perfectly tuned that day and so came the worst defeat in Mourinho’s coaching career.

This is clearly the way to go for Real Madrid as far as pure game comes. Having put their rivals on the top of their nerves should have been a self-esteem shot and a chance to show the world that they are not the bad guys of the movie. It was the perfect chance for them to challenge Barca in all levels: inside the pitch, and outside attitude. Instead, they chose to be the sore loser who blames their misery on the refs.

Teixeira had a bad time refereeing this match but his bad calls were equally distributed. Lass should have never played a minute of the second half. It is clears that Barcelona and Real Madrid were playing. Had it been a player from Granada or Rayo, Lass would have seen a second yellow card after his tackle on Messi. Somebody get some guts to these referees.

Real Madrid and Barcelona will meet at least once more this year. At this moment, what Mourinho will do remains a mystery. Logic indicates he will repeat his last strategy but I doubt Barcelona will have yet another bad day. Barcelona moves on to the semifinals, Real Madrid players can have much needed confidence. Mourinho, on the other hand, will continue to be the target of critics; his strategy at home cost his team a semi-final.

Pepe is insane: Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing expecting different results. By this definition Pepe is absolutely insane. Once again we had to suffer watching every dirty trick of the book: violent tackles, faking faults, and constant complaining to the ref in every call. Clearly this man hasn’t learned the lesson. It’s a miracle that he finishes games with only a yellow card (but that doesn’t count as bad referee for Real Madrid of course). I can’t wait until this player moves to another league but the question is: which team is willing to build him an asylum?