Xavi gets clasico formula just right as Barcelona dream of return to glory days

Roberto and Kessie played key roles in win over Real Madrid, providing hope to Camp Nou faithfuls that club is on right path

Sergi Roberto celebrates after scoring Barcelona's first goal in their La Liga victory over Real Madrid on March 20, 2023. Reuters

Xavi Hernandez was in a dilemma. It kept him wondering “up to the last minute” until he named his starting XI for the most important fixture, in terms of the attitude of the crowd, of his tenure so far as Barcelona manager. It was his first confrontation at home against Real Madrid since he took the job in November 2021. He needed to get his midfield just right.

The dilemma was whether to pick Sergi Roberto or Franck Kessie alongside captain Sergio Busquets and Frenkie De Jong. The choice was much like many Xavi has had to make in a season of mixed fortunes and one preceded by a high turnover of players. The long-servant? Or the newcomer?

Sergi Roberto is a homegrown, one-club man, appreciated for his versatility but not always applauded by fans – he is not a cherished, generational academy product in the way Xavi himself, or Andres Iniesta, were as Barca midfielders.

Kessie is a hired expert. The Ivorian joined from AC Milan last summer, a footballer of many strengths and proven champion calibre. He was crucial to Milan winning Serie A for the first time in 11 years last May.

In the end Xavi opted for Roberto, who was once his playing colleague and a man with a history of playing in clasicos against Madrid that dates back 12 years. It turned out well.

Roberto took his goal just before half-time superbly, a well-timed equaliser just as Barcelona were thinking Madrid might hold out on the 1-0 lead they had established early on via Ronald Araujo’s own goal.

Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid: Player ratings

BARCELONA PLAYER RATINGS: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – 7. Saved from Benzema in front of the huge 95,745 crowd, the biggest in the world this season. Got down to save again from Benzema on 79. Prevented Madrid getting the win they needed. AFP

Ronald Araujo – 7. Played right-back to deal with the speed of Vinicius. Struggled with it and inadvertently headed the ball from the Brazilian into his own goal after eight minutes. Involved in the equaliser. Blocked an 85th minute Madrid attack. AFP

Andreas Christensen – 7. Barely gave the ball away, even when he started to play long balls rather than pass out from the back as Barcelona usually do. Big win in a big – and impressive – first season for the Catalans. AP

Jules Kounde – 8. Top defending. Cut out a dangerous Madrid attack on the hour – a big recovery. Celebrated like his side had won the league at the end, which, given their 12-point lead, they all but have. AFP

Alejandro Balde – 7. Well organised and mature beyond his years but struggled with making his attacks against a top-level rival. Best moment was the vital cross to set up a 90th minute winner for Kessie. Booked. AFP

Sergi Roberto – 8. The Catalan was picked above Kessie as the replacement for the injured Pedri. Smashed an early shot over the bar but equalised a minute before half time when he side-footed past Courtois. Booked. Scored four goals in 17 league appearances this season - as in his previous four seasons. Man of the match. AP

Sergio Busquets – 8. Excellent defending. Poor pass let Rodrygo go for a shot on 62 minutes but kept the midfield discipline despite moments of Madrid play. “You can never say it’s over with 12 games to play, but we’re 12 points clear and that’s going to be hard for Madrid,” said his fellow midfielder Roberto. EPA

Frenkie De Jong – 8. Set up Raphinha in the movement that led to the equaliser. His through balls between the Madrid lines were a threat. Best midfielder on the pitch. AP

Gavi – 8. His usual will to win saw him charge back to try and stop the attack which led to Madrid’s second. It didn’t work. But the offside flag was in Barca’s favour to keep it 1-1. Picked out Lewandowski in an 87th minute attack, but it broke down. AFP

Raphinha – 9. Powerful header saved by Courtois inside five minutes, then cut in from the right and saw a shot tipped over on 34. Booked for a 32nd minute tackle on Kroos. Barca’s best attacker and gave Nacho a difficult time. AFP

Robert Lewandowski – 6. Rifled a shot from 20 yards after eight minutes. Worked hard chasing the ball, shot wide on 58 and volleyed over on 66 as the Catalans pushed to take the lead. Back heel to Balde led to the winning goal. AFP

SUBS: Franck Kessie (Roberto 76’) – 8. Tried to run into the box. Scored his first Barcelona goal in the 90th minute, to send his side 12 points clear. The stuff dreams are made of. AP

Ferran Torres (Raphinha 82’) – N/A. Bit part. Getty

Ansu Fati (Gavi 90’) – N/A. First touch was in the Madrid box but Carvajal pushed him off the ball. Ceballos tried to kick him and was booked. As was Fati. AFP

REAL MADRID PLAYER RATINGS: Thibaut Courtois – 7. Made a string of world-class saves and proved why he’s one of the best in the business in his position. AFP

Nacho – 6. The defender was vocal and had good focus under pressure with some solid interceptions. Getty

Antonio Rudiger – 5. German centre-back was confident at both ends of the pitch and had a nice aerial presence but shouldn’t leave so many gaps. EPA

Eder Militao – 4. Looked off the pace whenever Lewandowski was putting pressure on him, especially for the winning goal. AFP

Dani Carvajal – 5. Left more than a few openings on the inside despite his overlapping runs. Getty

Toni Kroos – 5. Despite sitting deep, Kroos came across as quite lazy and lethargic when he was off the ball. AP

Eduardo Camavinga – 7. Played a role in Real’s only goal, had solid positioning and pressure, and linked up with those around him nicely. EPA

Luka Modric – 7. The Croatian’s wonderful vision paid off on more than one occasion, but he was left with a lot to do on his own in midfield. AP

Vinicius Junior – 7. Showed wonderful ingenuity for the opening goal but needed some extra help when getting to the byline. Reuters

Karim Benzema – 5. Went missing far too often despite some good pressure in the first half hour. AFP

Federico Valverde – 4. While his movement was good, he needs some better link up play and improved finishing at every turn. AP

SUBS: Ferland Mendy (Nacho 62') – 6. Got into good positions in the final third but should’ve stuck to his man for what proved to be the winner. EPA

Rodrygo (Kroos 62') – 6. Showed solid physicality but didn’t do too much to influence the result of the game. Getty

Aurelien Tchouameni (Camavinga 76') – N/A. Looked comfortable on the ball and was incredibly forward-pressing after coming on. AP

Marco Asensio (Valverde 76') – N/A. Scored with what was essentially his first touch, only for it to be ruled out due to a narrow offside. AFP

Dani Ceballos (Modric 76') – N/A. Looked slightly off the pace in what proved to be a brief cameo for the midfielder. EPA

A Madrid win would have kept the race for the Liga title very much alive, at six points separating Barca in top place and the reigning champions, Madrid, in second.

As it happened, a dramatic close to the game – Madrid had a ‘winner’ ruled out for offside by VAR and Barca, through substitute Kessie, then made it 2-1 in injury-time – would leave Barcelona 12 points clear with 12 games to go.

Supporters left Camp Nou late on Sunday night chanting ‘Campeones.’ It does look very likely Barcelona will win the league from here, with their strong defensive record, at least in domestic football, and with all the knowhow assembled in their squad.

Some of that is concentrated in the longer-serving players – such as Roberto, Jordi Alba and especially Busquets, who was part of midfield including Xavi and Iniesta that, a decade-and-a-half ago under a young Pep Guardiola – set about making Barca the most admired club side in the world. They won La Liga almost routinely then, and would claim three Champions League titles between 2009 and 2015.

Nobody is ready to interpret Barca’s huge lead in the 2022-23 Liga race as a return to those glorious days, not while Xavi is still digesting elimination from both the Champions League and Europa League at the first hurdle of both competitions.

But confidence in the domestic tasks – they face Madrid, armed with a 1-0 first-leg lead, in the Camp Nou leg of their Spanish Cup semi-final next month – is built on the increasingly reliable blend of homegrown excellence with the proven savvy of those, like Kessie, who came in the close-season.

Barcelona coach Xavi talks to defender Andreas Christensen during the win over Barcelona. AFP

Milan certainly miss Kessie. Their defence of their Serie A title has collapsed. They trail runaway Italian leaders Napoli by 23 points and, having lost at the weekend, are in a battle to retain their current fourth place.

The big summer recruit at Barcelona was Robert Lewandowski, 34, but deemed worth a lavish four-year contract for his tried-and-tested excellence as a finisher. He is the leading scorer in this season’s La Liga. The selling club were Bayern Munich, and to look at the Bundesliga table now is to believe Bayern do miss the Polish centre-forward.

He set various records while his goals were taking Bayern to eight successive league titles with him in the side. Post-Lewandowski, Bayern are currently chasing Borussia Dortmund in the table, having lost for the second time in five games at the weekend.

Xavi has valued the contributions of two additions from Chelsea, Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso, both part of the London club’s 2021 Champions League squad. He continues to back, in spite of less playing time than he would like, Ferran Torres who joined in the winter window of 2021-22 having won a Premier League title with Manchester City.

Christensen stood out, like a champion, against Madrid. Torres came on to add some energy in the later stages, as did the delighted Kessie, whose winning strike will secure him an enduring place in the affections of Barca fans. Xavi’s dilemma had its perfect solution. “I was in doubt over whether to go with Sergi or Franck,” he explained. “In the end it all turned out very well because both of them scored.”