Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium was the place where Barcelona visited Real Madrid in La Liga’s El Clasico. We have tonight’s player ratings.
After a long wait, La Liga’s El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona finally took place in the Spanish capital. With everything on the line, whoever won tonight’s crunch match would take the lead and wait for Atletico Madrid’s match against Betis tomorrow. Zidane was coming from a tactical masterclass against Jurgen Klopp in the UEFA Champions League. His intention was to get another great result right before Real Madrid’s trip to Anfield next week.
If they got a win today, Los Blancos would cement their position in the two biggest competitions. Karim Benzema made sure to raise his hand in the first half with an artistic backheel finish that gave his side the lead. Toni Kroos scored during a free-kick with some help from Sergino Dest. The North American full-back got in the middle of the shot and blocked Ter Stegen’s range of view. Lionel Messi nearly scored an Olympic goal from a corner-kick but his shot hit the bar before halftime.
Koeman improves Barcelona in the second half.
By the time the second half started, the rain was pouring at Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium and it didn’t stop. Although Ronald Koeman made some necessary modifications to the squad, these conditions made everything more difficult for Barcelona. Oscar Mingueza did pull one back for the Catalan club to give the game more sass. However, none of the attacking players could make the difference.
Casemiro got himself sent off with two consecutive yellow cards late in the game. But this didn’t affect the outcome of the game despite Ilaix Moriba’s last-minute shot that hit the crossbar. With this result, Real Madrid takes the lead in an exciting La Liga season. Atletico Madrid can still recover the top if they win against Real Betis tomorrow.
Player ratings
Real Madrid: Courtois (7), Mendy (6), Nacho (8), Militao (8), Lucas (6), Casemiro (7), Valverde (8), Modric (8), Kroos (8), Vinicius (7), Benzema (9).
Bench: Mariano (7), Marcelo (7), Isco (7), Asensio (6), Odriozola (6).
FC Barcelona: Ter Stegen (6), Alba (4), Lenglet (6), Araujo (5), Mingueza (7), Dest (4), Busquets (6), De Jong (7), Pedri (5), Messi (5), Dembele (5).
Bench: Griezmann (5), Sergi Roberto (6), Ilaix (6), Trincao (6), Braithwaite (5).
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