Barca defeat to Madrid in El Clasico explained by failure to follow squad rule

Barcelona’s season seemed to implode very quickly indeed last week, with two defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid in the space of six days ending their European run and their La Liga hopes. The latter harked back to a frequent problem for Barcelona this season.

Following a first half of the campaign that had been defined by sloppy defending and frequently conceding goals early, the Blaugrana staff had installed an unwritten rule, as per Sport. Regardless of whether Barcelona scored or conceded, the next 5-10 minutes the players were to ‘freeze’ the game, getting on the ball, and ensuring that their composure returned.

Failure to adhere to that rule in El Clasico was ultimately their downfall, with Real Madrid winning a penalty within 10 minutes of Andreas Christensen’s opener, and then Lucas Vazquez equalising Fermin Lopez’s effort just four minutes later.

On the whole, that rule appeared to be working well based on the statistics. Since Xavi had announced his exit, only once had Barcelona conceded more than one goal in a match, until they met PSG at the Parc des Princes. Across their two legs with the French side and the Clasico, Barcelona conceded nine times, making it a tough ask for any offence.