Real Madrid are likely to again rely on the UEFA Champions League for another trophy this season, but there was room for encouragement against Barcelona on Wednesday beyond their resounding defeat.
Barca’s 3-0 victory, 4-1 on aggregate, means they go through to meet either Valencia or Real Betis Balompie in the Copa del Rey final, while their lead at the top of La Liga already makes them heavy favorites for another domestic double.
Madrid have been unable to match the consistency of their rivals this term, but there was enough in their performance at the Santiago Bernabeu to suggest that they can do them damage when the sides meet again tomorrow in La Liga for a second Clasico in four days.
“We are sad, because we wanted to play in the final, but we go out with our heads held high,” Madrid coach Santiago Solari said. “We did everything we could. We didn’t take our chances and they took theirs.”
Midfielder Casemiro said that Real were already looking forward to tomorrow’s rematch.
“We played well,” the Brazilian said. “The result was not good, but we will be waiting for them on Saturday. The result was not a fair reflection of the game.”
Vinicius Junior was Madrid’s brightest spark, but he also missed a hatful of chances before Barca’s Luis Suarez scored twice, either side of a Raphael Varane own-goal.
The worry for Solari is not that his side were unable to put Barcelona under pressure, but that they failed to kill them off, with some again pointing to the absence of a predator like Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Scoring one goal in 180 minutes of football is not enough to knock out Barcelona,” sports Web site AS said. “Without pointing the blame, the truth is Los Blancos miss Cristiano Ronaldo in these types of games.”
Karim Benzema had helped fill the void during a golden streak earlier this year, but he has faded, while Gareth Bale’s patchy displays since returning from injury have seen him reduced to a role on the bench.
Vinicius is lively, but the 18 year-old lacks composure in front of goal.
“Vinicius does not have the precision to finish,” newspaper El Pais said. “He is a reflection of the team he plays for, who are halfway to nobody knows where.”
Solari defended the youngster.
“The more you play, the more you learn,” he said.
In contrast, Suarez had barely touched the ball in the first half, but came alive in the crucial moments and would have had a hat-trick had Varane not beaten him to Ousmane Dembele’s cross to bundle in an own-goal.
“When he is in the area, he is at 200 percent,” Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said. “He has a sense for where the goal is.”
Suarez and Lionel Messi had both faced accusations of dips in the past few weeks, but the pair have now scored five goals in Barca’s past two games, following Messi’s hat-trick against Sevilla on Saturday last week.
Their surge is timely given a second leg against Olympique Lyonnais in the UEFA Champions League is just around the corner, with the tie goalless and delicately poised heading into the return at the Camp Nou.
“We want to win everything,” Valverde said. “That is what our fans want.”
Some have suggested going far in the Copa del Rey harms Barca’s chances in Europe, but Valverde picked his strongest side against Madrid, and is likely to do so again tomorrow.
Barcelona lead Real by nine points in La Liga, with Atletico Madrid seven points behind and still the closest challengers.
“They both seem far away, but they are not,” Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said. “We have to come here with our batteries fully charged again.”
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