The flower in the ass that Mourinho did not expect to have: the hot takes from the Barça-Madrid

BarcelonaPainful defeat for Barça against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou (1-2). It is the second consecutive one the blaugrana team has suffered in a few days. Below, some hot takes.

At the first real test, bang. Who knows if Lamine Yamal will pick up the Ballon d'Or in the coming hours. If it happens, it will be deserved because he is very good and because he has won the World Cup. In the Clásico, however, he did not exhibit his best performance. Erratic in his dribbling and uncomfortable with Cucurella's marking, he was not decisive and got lost in complaints. Given the result and the performance of both teams, the absences of Eric Garcia, Dani Olmo, and Kounde weighed much more than Courtois under the white posts. All in all, there is a quite strong conclusion from this first big week. To win titles, it is not enough to get past Osasuna, Alavés, or Celta. When the calendar gets steeper, you need to be more reliable, less naive. You must keep working.

It's okay, Gerard. The fault is not yours. Or not only, anyway. After Espart's injury, Cancelo had to move to right-back. Between Diomande and Cucurella, they exploited the weakness. A tense cross came in that you couldn't clear for a corner. You were poorly positioned and the ball hit your right leg, which isn't very skillful. You did what you could, as always, with the bad luck that you deflected the clearance onto Mbappé, who unintentionally opened the scoring. You are the most reliable player in Flick's Barça, the one who gets injured the least. You never raise your voice, you always guarantee a solid performance, you are on a low salary... If you have been exposed to the risk that comes with being a center-back in this team, it is because you have earned it. Now is not the time to beat yourself up over a one-off mistake.

The good one was already there. Much has been written and said about the surprising rotation of Rodri in Paris. It was surprising because if the Madrid man arrived for a fortune, it is to be a starter in matches like these. In the Clásico, as expected, he regained his starting spot. But it wasn't him who was the most brilliant Culer midfielder of the match, but Pedri. The recital by the Canary Islander at all levels of the pitch was sensational. In the build-up from the back, he offered more diagonals than a bishop. In the temperate zone, he distributed the calm that his team often lacked against an opponent comfortable in their reaction. And near the box, he activated his periscope to find the spaces. Thus, when the nerves began to take their toll, Raphinha's 1-1 was born. Rodri is very good, but the real good one we already had.

Remora detected. If Madrid had moments of superiority in the Clásico, it was because they functioned (also at times) like a football team. And that, more than Mourinho's merit, seems more like a consequence of the simple absence of Vinícius. After signing a renewal at a golden price, the Brazilian has become accustomed to running only when he has the ball under control. Without it, he walks and does not press, which weighs down any professional side. Since he was suspended for pulling an opponent's hair, Diomande played in his place, who proved to be a much more complete forward than him. Madrid has detected the remora on matchday 10, but with Florentino in charge, with any luck, we might see Vinícius playing by decree again.