Approaching the 69th minute in Saturday’s Clasico, it seemed like Barcelona had managed to keep Jude Bellingham under wraps.
The job of shackling Real Madrid’s new star, and La Liga’s top scorer, was assigned to a 19-year-old making his ninth appearance in Spanish football’s biggest rivalry: Gavi.
For much of the game he was successful in that. But by the time the referee blew his final whistle, Bellingham, 20, had scored two goals including a stoppage-time match-winner. Of all the astonished Barcelona faces, it was Gavi’s who stood out.
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As Madrid’s players celebrated, he walked around the pitch biting his lip, looking at the ground, trying to keep himself together. He managed to hold back what was coming for a little while but then, as he and his team-mates applauded the home support, emotions finally got the better of him, and the tears started to come. He had put everything into the match but he and Barca were coming away with nothing to show for it in a 2-1 defeat.
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In a quickfire post-match interview, he was praised for his performance by the TV reporter posing the questions. He had been one of the best on the pitch for Barca, they said. The fans had been chanting his name.
“It’s no use if we don’t win,” Gavi replied.
Jude Bellingham and Gavi during Saturday’s El Clasico (Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)With Vinicius Junior again more or less successfully controlled by Ronald Araujo — the defender is the Brazilian forward’s shadow in Clasicos — Xavi was clear that the other key aspect would be controlling Bellingham, or trying to at least.
The coach was brave and left out the defensive midfielder this task might have fallen to. Oriol Romeu has not been in great form without the injured Frenkie de Jong in the side, so Gavi was instead deployed at the base of Barca’s midfield in a double pivot with Ilkay Gundogan.
He was excellent — not only in possession, but also in defence. No Barca player won more tackles than his four, and his challenge on Toni Kroos set Fermin Lopez free to shoot from inside the box — who knows how the game might have turned out had Barca doubled their early 1-0 lead with that big chance in the 16th minute.
Gavi also made a team-high nine recoveries, and won 10 of his side’s 48 duels. He played a perfect game. Or almost.
“Gavi was sensational,” Xavi said at the post-match press conference. “He played a great match. He’s the soul of the team. Today, he played more as a pivot and he did very well. He gives us the intensity that is fundamental in this team. Defensively, his role was to win balls back, to be aggressive.
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“We controlled Real Madrid very well. One shot from outside the box was a goal, and the second came from a rebound.”
It was Gavi’s defensive headed clearance that fell to Bellingham for the England international’s spectacular equaliser. That moment was also the cue, as Barca looked to bring the game back to their opponents, for a change in Xavi’s thinking, and in Gavi’s role on the pitch.
When Romeu came on shortly afterwards, it was to replace Lopez, who also impressed (in his first Clasico, aged 20) but who by the 72nd minute appeared exhausted. Romeu took up a spot at the base of midfield, while Gavi was moved into Lopez’s position, closer to the attack, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha also introduced not long after. Yamal, 16, became the youngest player to ever feature in a Clasico.
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But moving Gavi from his deeper position saw Barca’s build-up suffer, and Romeu’s slow decision-making soon became evident. Xavi certainly did have a plan, but it was unravelling.
“Real Madrid had 20 good minutes and scored two goals. We had 60 and scored just one,” the manager said after the game. “I’m frustrated, angry, p*ssed off.”
Gavi himself summed up what happened succinctly: “We fell apart when they scored the first goal.”
Gundogan and Gavi had been key in setting Barca’s high tempo, a rhythm Madrid struggled with in the game’s early stages. Gavi especially applied intense pressure to the away side when they were in possession.
But Barca’s approach was overtaken by those two moments of power and instinct produced by Bellingham. That’s why Gavi couldn’t hold back the tears, and why the Barca fans who cheered his name felt the exact same frustration.
(Top photo: Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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