The culture of the individual is said to have
taken over from the overriding team ethic of
football. But on Sunday, two of the modern
game’s greatest collectives come head to head
as Barcelona meet Real Madrid at the Camp
Nou.
Yet it is still not the traditional match-up of 11
against 11 that has everybody transfixed so
much as the face-off between the sport’s two
greatest strike forces that has the world talking
ahead of the latest Clasico.
While Real Madrid have the much-lauded BBC of
Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano
Ronaldo, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez
and Neymar have been dubbed the MSN.
It is typical of the battle between the two clubs.
Barca make headlines with Messi, Madrid with
Ronaldo. The Blancos’ front-line has a nickname,
so too must the Catalans trio have one.
But which is the best-performing of the two
triumvirates as the Gran Derbi approaches?
In the opening half of the campaign Real
Madrid’s superiority was summed up by the
brilliance of their front three. They led La Liga
with authority, collected the Uefa Super Cup and
strolled to the Club World Cup title. All the
while, Bale, Benzema and Cristiano were
thriving.
Between them, the star trio bagged 57 goals in
71 appearances over Madrid’s 28 games before
the winter break. At a combined rate of 2.41
goals per game the BBC were sending out one
hell of a signal as Los Blancos looked set to
steamroller the division, with 22 consecutive
victories providing testament to their effect as a
threesome.
But their form since the break has been
nowhere near as convincing. In 2015, the front
three are combining for 1.3 goals per game,
down more than a goal on their average in the
first half of the season.
And that fall has been replicated in Madrid’s
results, with five defeats in 16 games seeing
them fall off the top of the table, suffer
elimination from the Copa del Rey and very
nearly go down to a humiliating Champions
League exit against Schalke.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have benefitted
from far greater consistency in their front line.
In a total of 52 appearances between their trio
pre-Christmas, Messi, Suarez and Neymar netted
40 goals to give Barcelona an average of 2.3
per game.
And in 2015 they have added 42 more at a
mean of 2.42, propelling the Catalans to the top
of La Liga and into the final of the Copa del
Rey, and most recently beyond English
champions Manchester City in Europe.
Even in assists, it is Barca's boys leading the
way. The MSN have racked up 24 assists this
year compared to the BBC’s seven, meaning
their interplay is directly resulting in more goals
for one another.
There can be no doubting that they are the
hottest attacking unit in the world at the
moment, and former Barca star Rivaldo told
Goal that it is the Messi-inspired Blaugrana front
three which makes them the favourites at the
Camp Nou.
“Both have brilliant players full of quality and
goals. And each team’s forward line has one of
the world’s best players leading them,” he
explained.
“Messi’s form and goal-scoring at the moment
means he can give Barcelona victory. But Real
Madrid are a really strong team and they could
surprise everyone and take a beautiful win.”
And David Villa is in agreement, the ex-
Barcelona striker making it clear to Goal that he
sees the tussle of the two attacking units being
key to the result.
“Barcelona’s strikeforce is better than Madrid’s.
That is all.”
It seems inevitable that the winning moment
will come from one of the leading men. Messi or
Ronaldo? Neymar or Bale? Suarez or Benzema?
Form is with Barcelona’s three amigos, but their
Madrid counterparts are due a return to their
very best.
MSN or BBC? Today will decide who is the real
headline act.