There was something different about the battle of the two Spanish giants on Saturday.
Real Madrid were coming into the match shockingly 10 points behind the Catalans, as Barcelona were entering El Clasico on a six-month, 39 game unbeaten run that has seen the Blaugrana all but wrap up La Liga.
In contrast, Madrid, who were unbeaten until October, having lost four times since then and despite leading the league with 87 goals, have been let down by their defence – 26 of their 28 goals allowed coming in that time frame.
But goals from Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo overturned a deficit inflicted by Gerard Pique’s opener to give the visiting Madridistas the win.
Real Madrid
Keylor Navas – 7: As Barcelona only managed a paltry three shots on goal, the Costa Rican did not have all that much to do, but when he was called upon – see the Messi chip – he did very well.
Pepe – 6: He lost Pique badly as the Barca opened the scoring. Everyone’s favourite madman took a vicious elbow from Luis Suarez, and did not make a lot of interceptions and clearances, but should get some credit for keeping the deadly “MSN” trio goalless.
Sergio Ramos – 2: That’s right. Sure, the 30-year-old made three tackles and had four interceptions and four clearances, but he should have been sent off in the first half for the missed tackle on Messi, sitting on a yellow card. He made three other clear bookable fouls before the referee finally dismissed him on 83 minutes.
Marcelo – 7: After a quiet first half where the Brazilian looked like he was going to get electrocuted by Zinedine Zidane if he crossed midfield, he came alive and orchestrated the equaliser. Aside from his two key passes, both of which came after the break, he also led his team with four interceptions.
Daniel Carvajal – 7: Led his team in touches with 26 in the first half, despite a cynical two for one foul on Neymar and Andres Iniesta which saw him earn a booking. Should get some of the credit for holding Neymar to just one shot for the whole game.
Toni Kroos – 7: One of the architects of the second half turnaround as 30 of his 49 touches came in that time period with his assist for Benzema’s equaliser. Ninety per cent passing accuracy and three tackles are textbook Kroos.
Luka Modric – 7: His 100% pass accuracy dropped to a mere 97% as he completed 34 of 35 passes in a commanding performance. Excellent defence to stop the Barca attacks and two key passes were also key for the Madrid victory.
Absolutely clear penalty from Ramos to Messi. But it is a poor Clasico. Real want to win confidence (more than the game). Lacklustre FCB too
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) April 2, 2016
Casemiro – 8: The much maligned Brazilian became the ace up Zidane’s sleeve, as the coach decided to go for a defensive approach, leaving Isco and James Rodriguez on the bench. With eight tackles – no other player on the pitch had more than three – he got the job done (by fouling when it was necessary) in defecse, and had the most touches of any Real player with 53.
Gareth Bale – 8: The Welshman was his side’s best player in the first half, and saved his best for the last 15 minutes, with a wrongfully disallowed goal and the assist for Ronaldo’s winner. His three shots on target equalled Barcelona’s total output.
Karim Benzema – 7: Probably deserves a three for the first half and an eight or nine for the second half, after a shot into orbit was corrected by a great finish. Only 13 touches in the first half and 23 in the second tells the story.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 8: Despite a game-high five shots (two in the first half and three in the second), the Portuguese superstar was largely anonymous until the last 15 minutes, where he exploded with a shot that grazed the crossbar and the game winner – a finish even Johan Cruyff would have applauded. On this day, the “BBC” outshone MSN.
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