Both teams lined up as expected, with Luka Modrić making his second start in Real Madrid’s midfield since an injury in November. On the other side, Sergio Busquets only played a quarter-hour off the bench as he recovers from his own injury.
Javier Mascherano played as Barça’s single pivot, holding his own in a mammoth two-on-one effort against Modrić and Toni Kroos for Madrid. Mascherano’s tendencies toward a more hard-nosed style than Busquets helped, as he attempted five tackles in the match.
In attack, he fulfilled the pivot’s distribution obligation, completing 96 percent of his passes, spraying the ball from one side to the other. Defensively, Mascherano’s comfort dropping into the back line supported center backs Gerard Piqué and Jérémy Mathieu.
While Andrés Iniesta and Ivan Rakitić patrolled ahead of Mascherano, Madrid played with two holding midfielders. Neither Kroos nor Modrić is a traditional No. 6 on his own, but together, they form an intelligent duo that effectively clogs space and maintains forward pressure.
They rarely strayed far on Sunday, maintaining average positions close to the center circle, only leaving to attack the half-spaces on their respective sides. Their presence in the central channel allowed the wide men to play closer to Karim Benzema as both fullbacks to overlapped aggressively, with Marcelo in particular causing Barcelona problems on the left.
When either central player advanced, he frequently looked over his shoulder to ensure his partner covered the space in front of center backs Pepe and Sergio Ramos. Kroos and Modrić served as facilitators, completing 93 percent of their passes as a pair and allowing the creative players freedom in higher areas.
In Real’s best spell, between hitting the post in the 12th minute and halftime, Barcelona’s midfielders could not turn with the ball at their feet in their own half. Kroos and Modrić organized an immediate press that caused a series of early giveaways and kept the ball near Claudio Bravo’s goal.
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