La Liga, Round 35. El Clásico. Real Madrid traveled to face Barcelona.
As the third El Clásico in such a short span, both sides had to be said to have played every card they had.
Real Madrid arrived at Camp Nou with an aggregate score of 8–0 from the two legs of their Champions League semifinal, while Barcelona were carrying the hopes of all their fans. Everyone hoped they could rebound at home. Even if the match no longer affected the bigger picture, defeating Real Madrid would still have been worth celebrating.
But the facts proved that Barcelona had not risen from the dead.
Real Madrid fielded a rotated lineup for this match. Ancelotti deployed a 4-3-3 Formation, with Casillas in goal; Maxwell, Pepe, Varane, and Arbeloa across the back; Javi Martínez sitting deep; Herrera and Modrić partnering in midfield; and Yang Yang, Ibrahimovic, and Di Maria forming the Trident.
Ancelotti's lineup was clearly designed to suppress the midfield. He intended to use the all-around abilities of the three midfielders—Javi Martínez, Herrera, and Modrić—to keep Barcelona's midfield under control.
Guardiola also made some appropriate rotations. Valdes was in goal, with Adriano, Pique, Puyol, and Alves in defense. Busquets sat deep in midfield, with Tiago and Xavi in the center, while Tello, Messi, and Iniesta formed the Trident up front.
This was absolutely a very courageous choice.
Before the match, numerous media outlets had been reporting that Guardiola had lost the dressing room's support. One important reason was his use of several young players, including Tiago, Tello, and Cuenca. Everyone in the dressing room believed that Guardiola should have placed more trust in players like Pedro and Fabregas.
Yet for this match, Guardiola still started Tiago and Tello, displaying his determination to gamble all the way.
As soon as the match