During José Mourinho’s reign as Real Madrid manager, El Clásico was often a turgid affair where players resorted to simulation and manipulation as they did anything they could to secure victory. On Sunday however, they showed why millions of fans tuned in to watch yet another installment of Madrid vs Barcelona, as the latter secured victory to close the gap at the summit of La Liga to just 1 point.
The spectacle was yet another turning point in the race to be crowned Primera División champions, with Atlético sitting atop Spain’s top tier due to their superior head-to-head record over their Madrid rivals this season. Barcelona are back in with a huge chance of defending their title, while El Clásico itself gave fans an indication as to what or whom could make the difference in Spain between now and May.
Lionel Messi’s return to form
While the onus was on the recently crowned Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo to guide Real to victory, Lionel Messi stole the show with yet another 10-out-of-10 performance, his fifth of the season. The Argentine had come under criticism due to his displays not being at their scintillating best following a recent injury, but he again showcased his talents to the watching world with a hat-trick and assist in the win.
However, it wasn’t just his goals and assist that won him the plaudits in the aftermath of the encounter, but rather his all-round performance. Messi made 3 accurate through balls over the 90 minutes, one of which was for Neymar to draw the foul from Sergio Ramos, after which Messi drew Barcelona level from the penalty spot.
Furthermore, the 26-year-old executed 5 key passes in the match, more than any other player. On the biggest stage, Messi once again exhibited his quality that has helped drag Barcelona back into the title race. Despite being dubbed the second best player in the world, Messi’s exploits overshadowed Ronaldo here.
Same defensive problems for Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti has been praised for improving the Madrid defence since his summer appointment, but Barcelona carved open Los Blancos’ backline like a hot knife through butter. Prior to Sunday's Clásico, the Spanish capital side had been shipping just 10.9 shots per game this term, but conceded 18 on Sunday evening.
Attacking trio Neymar, Messi and Andrés Iniesta were able to find ample space in between the lines as the Real back-four appeared overawed by their Liga counterparts. Xabi Alonso in particular struggled to contain the movement of the trio, with the pace of Barcelona's attacking trident culminating in a poor display from the experienced midfielder, highlighted in his rating of 5.8 having conceded a penalty and been booked late on.
Pepe was again up to his usual off the ball antics, with the Portuguese clashing with Cesc Fábregas following Messi’s second goal on the stroke of half time. Many tipped Sergio Ramos’ red card, his 14th in La Liga, beforehand as the Real centre-back pairing lived up to their billing, albeit for all the wrong reasons.
Karim Benzema’s goalscoring exploits
At the beginning of the campaign, Karim Benzema struggled as Real’s lead frontman. On the back of Gonzalo Higuaín’s sale to Napoli, the Frenchman should have thrived without any real competition, but inconsistency saw the supporters call for Álvaro Morata to leapfrog Benzema as their first choice striker. However, since his brace in the 7-3 win over Sevilla back in October, 26-year-old has found the form that saw him win the adulation of his peers during his time with Lyon.
His brace against Barcelona took his tally in La Liga to 17 for the season and he’s expected to better his return of the 2011/12 campaign (21). However, the fact of the matter is Benzema could easily have netted more than 2 in the 4-3 loss and had it not been for a Gerard Piqué goaline clearance, would have bagged a first half hat-trick. The France international had the most shots on goal (8) in the encounter, showing his ability to get into good goalscoring positions and confidence he currently exudes.
Benzema, alongside Bale and Ronaldo - the much talked about ‘BBC’ - has spearheaded the Real attacking triumvirate with aplomb and he displayed his ability at the Bernabeu on Sunday night. His rating of 8.9 was the best of every Los Blancos player, with the striker unlucky not have been on the winning side.
The signing of Gareth Bale for a world record £85m meant Ángel Di María was tipped to leave the Bernabeu last summer. However, with club president Florentino Perez opting to instead sell Mesut Özil to Arsenal, the Argentine was handed the opportunity to cement a starting spot under Ancelotti.
However, with Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo the favoured attacking trident, Di María has been utilised further back and has adjusted his playing style as a result. In the opening exchanges of El Clásico, the 26-year-old was without question the best player on the pitch, registering both assists for Benzema’s first half double.
Di María was a constant menace on the Madrid left-flank, with Dani Alves enduring a tumultuous half hour as the Argentine ran riot, completing an impressive 7 dribbles in that time and executing 4 key passes prior to his 85th minute withdrawal. Di María ended the encounter with a WhoScored rating of 8.7, though his impact dropped following his blistering start to the game. Nevertheless, head coach Ancelotti will be hopeful the player can turn out similar performances between now and the end of the season as Madrid go in hunt of their 33rd La Liga title.
Do you think Real Madrid or Barcelona can finish ahead of Atlético Madrid in La Liga this season? Let us know in the comments below
