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Jan 15, 2012

Reuters Soccer blog merges with Left Field

Dear readers,

The Reuters Soccer blog is merging with our sister site, Left Field — Reuters’ global sports analysis and opinion page.

In future please head to Left Field http://blogs.reuters.com/sport/ for all sports blogs including soccer articles.

It only takes a moment to register so please leave all your insightful comments on Left Field too.

Thanks

Dec 11, 2011

Real’s psychological barrier key to Barca’s 3-1 win

By Drazen Jorgic

Annoyingly for Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, the supposed plot line of  El Clasico on Saturday did not follow the script. The much-anticipated power shift from Catalunya to Madrid did not take place and his team are back to the drawing board as far as playing against Barcelona is concerned.

Mourinho blamed bad luck for the loss, as you would expect, but a lot of the press have zoomed in on Real’s psychological barrier when it comes to facing Barca.

These things are always difficult to quantify but the awe-inspiring Real team that crushed everyone so far in 2011 simply crumbled when Barcelona reversed a one goal-deficit and went 2-1 up.

Even Mourinho conceded the third Barca goal was a ‘psychological blow’, though I would argue it was the second goal that mentally defeated them.

Perhaps the players — a bit like many of the Madrid fans — had that feeling of ‘here we go again’. The doubts crept in, slowly but surely, and Barca took what is now their customary control of latter parts of El Clasico clashes.

Real Madrid began to play like a team that was facing an opponent who had whipped them in six of the previous seven encounters under their current coach, including a 5-0 drubbing.