This season, Barcelona and Real Madrid had already faced each other twice.
Once in the first league meeting.
Once in the Spanish Super Cup final.
And on both occasions, Barcelona had lost.
Not just lost, either.
They had been crushed!
Now that the two teams were meeting again, Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman naturally wanted revenge.
For him, this was not only another El Clásico.
It was a chance to restore pride, silence the mockery, and prove that Barcelona had not been completely left behind by their eternal rivals.
The match was scheduled for eight in the evening, but by the afternoon, large numbers of Madrid fans had already gathered outside the Bernabéu.
They were not singing Real Madrid's anthem.
They were hurling abuse at Barcelona.
Of course, the traveling Barcelona supporters immediately fired back.
The hatred between the two clubs needed no warming up. Around the stadium, groups of die-hard fans shouted at one another, and small scuffles broke out from time to time before security quickly stepped in.
Real Madrid and Barcelona had always been bitter enemies.
Naturally, the fans of both clubs were like fire and water.
...
At eight in the evening, the match officially kicked off.
"Welcome to the official La Liga global broadcast! I'm Rob Palmer, joined by Terry Gibson, bringing you live from the Santiago Bernabéu for another enormous El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona."
"There is already a title feel around this one," Rob announced. "Madrid can move one step closer to an early coronation, while Barcelona know anything other than a win will leave their hopes hanging by a thread."
"And the team sheets tell their own story," Terry noted. "Koeman has gone much more cautious tonight. Barcelona have been hurt badly by Madrid this season, and this lineup feels like a direct response to that."
Because Barcelona had lost both of their previous meetings with Real Madrid this season, Koeman sent out a more defensive shape tonight.
The goalkeeper was still "the Little Lion," Marc-André ter Stegen.
But in front of him, Barcelona had five defenders.
"Barcelona line up in a 5-4-1."
"Goalkeeper: Marc-André ter Stegen."
"Defence: Sergiño Dest, Óscar Mingueza, Ronald Araújo, Clément Lenglet, Jordi Alba."
"Midfield: Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, Pedri, Ousmane Dembélé."
"Forward: Lionel Messi."
The fact that Barcelona had been forced into a defensive five-at-the-back system was enough to show just how terrifying Real Madrid's attacking power had become.
"As for Real Madrid," Rob continued, "Zidane has also made an important adjustment."
"Casemiro returns to the starting lineup, Theodore Bjorn moves higher into the front line, Benzema starts from the right, and Vinícius Júnior keeps his place on the left."
"It looks like Zidane wants to test Barcelona's defensive wall directly," Terry said. "If Koeman has brought the shield, Madrid have brought the spear."
The moment Barcelona's 5-4-1 formation was announced, fans online immediately exploded into debate.
📱 @MadridModeOn ✔
Barcelona playing 5-4-1 in El Clásico? Koeman is terrified. No other explanation.
| ↳ 📱 @BlancoPulse
| Reply: They could play 5-5-0 and Theodore would still find a way to score.
📱 @CulerHeart ✔
I don't like seeing Barça defend this deep, but after what Madrid did to us twice already, I understand why Koeman is doing it.
| ↳ 📱 @BarcaDNA
| Reply: Understand it? This is Barcelona. We're supposed to play football, not park the bus at the Bernabéu.
📱 @LaLigaWatch ✔
Barcelona using a back five against Real Madrid tells you everything about the fear Theodore has created this season.
| ↳ 📱 @UCLMadridista
| Reply: Destroy Barça. Simple.
...
After the match began, Barcelona really did not take the initiative to attack.
Almost every player retreated into their own half, leaving only Messi drifting alone up front.
Seeing this, Rob Palmer sounded genuinely surprised.
"Well, this is not something you see every day," Rob said. "Barcelona are sitting very deep at the Bernabéu. Apart from Messi, everyone else is behind the ball."
"It tells you how much respect, or maybe fear, they have for Madrid's attacking power," Terry replied. "Koeman clearly does not want this game to become open early."
But just as Terry finished speaking, Real Madrid had already launched their first attack toward Barcelona's penalty area.
Toni Kroos received the ball in midfield.
Then came the chipped pass.
Bang!
The ball sailed over Frenkie de Jong's head and dropped instantly into Barcelona's penalty area.
Inside the box, apart from Benzema and Vinícius, Theodore was already there.
In truth, after learning that Barcelona intended to defend deep in this match, Zidane had made a major tactical adjustment of his own.
Casemiro returned to midfield, Theodore moved up into the front line, Benzema shifted out to the right, and Vinícius stayed on the left.
Zidane wanted to see which was sharper.
Madrid's spear or Barça's shield.
Inside the penalty area, Theodore had already leapt into the air.
Beside him, Araújo jumped at the same time.
The La Masia-produced center-back was physically strong and stood at 192 centimeters tall. But in this aerial duel, Theodore was clearly the more experienced player.
He took the better position before Araújo could.
Combined with Theodore's absurd heading ability, he easily won the ball above the Barcelona defender.
However, with the penalty area so crowded, trying to head directly at goal was extremely difficult.
So Theodore flicked it on instead.
The ball dropped perfectly to Benzema.
At that moment, every Barcelona defender inside the box was focused on Theodore, and they completely forgot Benzema was there.
Benzema did not hesitate.
He struck first time, sending the ball straight toward goal.
Ter Stegen had no answer as the shot roared past him like a cannonball.
One-nil!
Real Madrid had scored in less than six minutes.
"Benzema scores! Real Madrid strike first!" Rob shouted. "The low block is broken almost immediately!"
"That is so clever from Theodore," Terry said. "Everyone expects him to attack the header himself, but he knows the angle is difficult. So he cushions it into Benzema's path, and Benzema finishes it brilliantly."
"Barcelona came here to defend," Rob added. "But Madrid have opened them up with their very first serious attack of the night."
The Bernabéu erupted.
Barcelona's supposedly reinforced defensive wall had lasted less than six minutes.
📱 @MadridistaHQ ✔
Six minutes. That's how long Barcelona's parked bus survived.
| ↳ 📱 @BlancoPulse
| Reply: Everyone stared at Theodore and forgot Benzema existed. Comedy defending.
📱 @BarcaUniversal ✔
That is exactly what cannot happen. If you play five defenders and still concede that early, the whole plan collapses.
| ↳ 📱 @CulerHeart
| Reply: We don't even know how to park the bus properly. Pain.
📱 @LaLigaCentral ✔
Theodore assist, Benzema goal, Madrid 1–0 up. Barcelona's defensive plan is already on fire.
| ↳ 📱 @MadridModeOn
| Reply: Looks like another goal feast is coming.
At that moment, the broadcast camera cut to Ronald Koeman.
The Dutchman's mouth twitched slightly, and it was obvious that he was furious.
According to Koeman's pre-match plan, Barcelona needed to defend with everything they had for the first seventy minutes.
Once the match reached the final twenty, they would suddenly raise the tempo and rely on the individual ability of Messi and the others to threaten Madrid's goal.
The idea itself was not terrible.
But executing it was another matter entirely.
After the restart, Barcelona had possession.
Now that they were already trailing 0–1, pure defending had lost its meaning. They had no choice but to push forward.
But the moment Barcelona's midfielders tried to carry the ball up the pitch, several Real Madrid players closed in from every direction.
Casemiro.
Modrić.
Toni Kroos.
The legendary midfield trio still had wonderful chemistry and a strong balance between attack and defense.
Although none of them were young anymore, they continued to carry an enormous sense of pressure.
That meant Barcelona's midfield had no easy route to deliver the ball into Messi's feet.
Five minutes later, in the 11th minute, Messi finally dropped deep on his own initiative and received the ball.