Contradiction before the Clasico: Barcelona soar as Real Madrid sink into tension
Flick brings the joy: Mourinho sparks concern
Barcelona are enjoying an atmosphere of optimism and emphatic wins in La Liga, while Real Madrid are suffering from tension and hard-fought victories, two weeks before the Clasico.
A report by the newspaper Sport claims Barcelona are going through a perfect period. Their traditional rivals are not. Real Madrid are in a state of anger with Jose Mourinho back on the touchline, while Vinicius keeps stirring up controversy with his behaviour.
Six points still separate the two sides after the eighth round of La Liga. What really catches the eye, with two weeks to go until the Clasico at the Spotify Camp Nou on 25 October, is the contrast between them.
Barcelona have attacked the season's competitions with real strength. Optimism runs through the fanbase, the new signings are delivering, and emphatic victories have become the norm.
Tension and resentment have taken hold at Real Madrid, driven by anxiety and poor performances. Much of it is linked to Mourinho's return to the touchline.
Barcelona's fans are living a state of happiness under Flick
Three weeks without football threatened to kill Barca's momentum. It did nothing of the sort. Hansi Flick's side came back with the same strength and ruthlessness everyone had grown used to.
Getafe sat deep and squeezed the spaces with two tight banks, yet Barcelona scored from the off and then played with total composure, mindful of the brutal run ahead: away trips to Galatasaray, Real Betis and Paris Saint-Germain before the Clasico. Another emphatic win in the bank.
Nine matches, nine wins this season. Six of those have been by three goals or more.
Here's how they came: Elche 5-0, Rayo Vallecano 5-2, Valencia 5-0, Racing 7-2 and Getafe 3-0 in La Liga, plus the 5-1 demolition of Feyenoord in the Champions League. Athletic Bilbao 2-0, Levante 4-2 and Sevilla 3-1 made up the rest.
Flick has the fans beaming, and every new arrival has settled from day one. Rodri looks as though he has been at Barcelona for years. Gordon is justifying the sporting management's gamble on him, while Karim Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus keep delivering good levels whenever they feature.
Lamine Yamal keeps manufacturing chances that end up in the net. He did not score against Getafe, but he set up another, Jules Kounde finishing it off to mark becoming the French player with the most appearances in the club's history. Yamal is now up to eight goals and seven assists as he builds a Ballon d'Or case.
Mourinho imposes an atmosphere of tension and resentment
Real Madrid, meanwhile, are grinding out their wins, sometimes by a single goal. Los Blancos have also suffered two defeats this season, 1-0 to Real Betis and 2-1 to Atletico Madrid.
Four of the seven victories achieved by Jose Mourinho's side have come by just a single goal: 2-1 over Espanyol, 3-2 against Elche and 1-0 at Villarreal in La Liga, plus the 2-1 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Bigger margins arrived against Real Sociedad, beaten 4-1, Malaga, hammered 4-0, and Rayo Vallecano, also 4-1.
Severe tension runs through the club right now, and it is carrying over onto the pitch despite that win over Villarreal.
The new signings have not delivered what was expected of them. Marc Cucurella looks a different player to the one he once was, while Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva all still have to show their best.
Carlos Espi is the exception. He scores whenever he features, and alongside him Diomande has begun to turn heads after netting his first goal in a Real Madrid shirt against Villarreal.
Kylian Mbappe drew a blank against the Yellow Submarine for the second match in a row. Vinicius Junior, meanwhile, put himself back at the centre of the controversy with a clear act of poor behaviour, grabbing Saliba's hair before launching into angry protests that could cost him a suspension for the Clasico.
But Mourinho took the spotlight, just as he did during his previous spell. The Portuguese spent the Villarreal match in a constant state of agitation and clashed with both the fourth official and the opposition bench.
Footage of him sprinting onto the pitch to embrace Vinicius then became material for mockery, because the Brazilian's goal was ruled out. Mourinho completed the picture by refusing to attend the post-match press conference.
Two weeks remain until the Clasico. On every level, the differences between Barcelona and Real Madrid are there for all to see.
