The first half exposes Barcelona's crisis: the Paris scenario repeats itself

Why?

Barcelona failed to find the back of the net in the first half of the Clasico against Real Madrid, repeating the scenario from last Tuesday's Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

Only against PSG had the Catalans gone a first half without scoring this season. Now it has happened again, this time against their fiercest rivals, and both goalless openings have come inside a single week.

That statistic lays bare the drop in Barcelona's attacking edge across the opening 45 minutes of both games. Hansi Flick now wants to turn things around and restore some bite after the break.

Kylian Mbappe put Real Madrid ahead in the 42nd minute, settling the first half of this tenth-round La Liga fixture.