APRIL 25 ― Whenever we analyse a goal in football, it’s possible to take two points of view.
Firstly, and by far the most common perspective, is to look at how the goal was scored: the pass, the run, the header, the finish ― the actions carried out by the scoring team to make it possible.
But there’s also another perspective which is equally valid, albeit far less romantic or exciting: how the goal was conceded.
This is the viewpoint of the coach or the objective critic. What did the defending team do wrong? Where could they have positioned themselves better here, made a better tackle there, shown more energy at this point?
Take, for example, the already historic goal scored by Lionel Messi to settle Sunday night’s sensational Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeu.
As the move develops, we can marvel at the run made by Barca right-back Sergi Roberto, who somehow in the 92nd minute found the strength to sprint 50 yards with the ball, from deep inside his own pass to deep into Real’s half.
Next, we can appreciate Roberto’s pass to Andre Gomes, sending the ball closer to the edge of the opposition penalty area. Gomes then released a perfectly timed pass to the rapidly overlapping Jordi Alba, who promptly sent a well-placed first-time cross towards the vacant space around the penalty spot, exactly where the onrushing Messi wanted it to be placed.
And finally, of course, there was Messi’s nerveless finish, crunching the ball past home goalkeeper Keylor Navas with a crisp strike of his incomparable left foot, with the ball flying low and hard just inside the near post to make it impossible for any goalkeeper to get close to, never mind even think about saving.
Everything about the move was brilliantly done by Barcelona. The run from Roberto, the passes from him, Gomes and Alba, the movement of all the attacking players to create space, and the strike by Messi were all simply perfection ― they just could not have been executed any better.
But now let’s take the other point of view, and look at Real Madrid’s defending. And oh my goodness…in the same way that the attacking play could not have been better, the defensive attempts to prevent it really could not have been worse.
Firstly, we have to take into account the scenario.
The game was tied at 2-2 with just a few seconds remaining. Real Madrid could have quite happily taken a draw, which would have left them three points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga, with a game in hand and only a few more matches remaining.
Although of course they would have preferred to win, a draw would have been perfectly acceptable, allowing them to put one hand on the trophy. What they could not afford to do, however, was lose, knowing that a defeat would see Barcelona leapfrog them into first place and dramatically change the atmosphere around the run-in.
Furthermore, they were down to ten men, having seen captain Sergio Ramos sent off a few minutes earlier for a wild lunge on Messi ― and with no defensive substitutes available, they were finishing the game with midfielder Toni Kroos filling in at centre back.
The game was inside the very last minute, after the assistant referee raised his board to show that just two minutes of added time were being played, of which just 27 seconds remained when Roberto received possession on the edge of his own penalty area.
Quite obviously, at that point ― 27 seconds away from a vital point ― Real Madrid’s ten remaining players should have been focussed entirely upon defending. Scoring another goal would have been nice, of course, but not conceding another goal was far more important.
But they weren’t. They were bombing forward in search of a heroic winner, with no less than five men ― more than half their outfield players― positioned within 25 yards of Barcelona’s goal.
After getting the ball, Roberto first breezed past Luka Modric, who should have fouled him. Then he sprinted away from Marcelo, who should have either run with him or fouled him, rather than allowing himself to be beaten.
Roberto was now running into wide-open space, launching a six on three break. Six on three! Real allowing themselves to be caught out with only THREE players in defensive positions was simply ludicrous, especially considering the game situation.
Modric hared back to make give his team four men inside the penalty area when Alba delivered his cross, but those four (and what on earth were the other five doing?!) were all guilty of ball-watching because none of them ― NONE of them ― thought it might be a good idea to actually mark Messi as he ran towards the box.
You’ve got the deadliest finisher in the world, arguably the greatest player in history, waiting for a cross around the edge of the box in the final seconds of a vital game…and NOBODY is marking him?
It’s simply outrageous, and can be explained partly by a lack of concentration, partly by a lack of composure, and partly by a plain lack of effort.
Mateo Kovacic, for example, was only jogging back towards the penalty area, and ended up about five yards behind Messi when he shot. With a bit more effort ― and he was a recently introduced substitute, so could not have been over-tired ― Kovacic could have got into a position to stop Messi.
So, there are always two sides to a story, and two sides to a goal. From the attacking point of view, Messi’s strike was sensational. From a defensive perspective, it was simply horrendous.
And if Real Madrid have many more collective brain-dead moments like that one, they’ll end up winning nothing this season.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
