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| Mesut Özil against Barcelona |
On Saturday, Xavi, Messi and Iniesta, with Pepe in the middle of the field, combined with more passes than in the first Classic of the season (5-0) or above the average they have in the League. But most of the combinations were unsuccessful, harassed by several white players without the possibility of creating danger. They made 109 passes, for 73 of the Camp Nou match, where Casillas made two stops and conceded five goals. At the Bernabeu Stadium, Iker made five stops and conceded just one goal from the penalty spot.
The presence of Pepe (paired with Messi, as Khedira with Iniesta) prevented what happened in the 5-0; Messi (without player assigned, free to play between the Real Madrid lines) gave four deadly passes to the back of white defense (two goals -both of Villa- and two almost -Xavi and Bojan-). That Barcelona's poor verticality on Saturday, was motivated by another difference; the Madrid defensive line was in a backward position (with the team together) at the Bernabeu than in the Camp Nou.
But Mourinho is a specialist in moving the tab during the game. His idea is to reach the last minutes of the Cup final with the possibility of winning. But if the team does not score a goal on the counter-attack and the script is twisted by a Barcelona goal, the Portuguese coach could place his team on the usual 4-2-3-1 with just one change; one of the central defenders (Ramos or Carvalho) would be replaced by Higuain or Benzema. Pepe would move back to his normal defense position and Özil would leave the right side to lead the team supported by Xabi and Khedira, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Di Maria in the wings.
