Sid Lowe's match report
What a second half performance from Barcelona. Just fabulous to watch. The crucial first goal was however down to Real Madrid bizarrely opening up their midfield for Rakitic to stroll through. Kovacic is being blamed for this, though Casemiro was also absent. Casemiro then lost the ball to allow Barcelona to break and eventually, after two Suarez misses and a Carvajal red card, score a second. Real played a significant part in their own downfall, but it took a brilliant side playing brilliantly to fully punish them. That’s all from me. Bye!
This has got to sting.
For the first time Liga history, Barcelona win their away league match versus Real Madrid 3 seasons in row. #RMAFCB
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) December 23, 2017
Isco refused to continue warming up after Zinedine Zidane reacted to the red card by bringing on Nacho, according to AS.
SER: Isco se negó a seguir calentado cuando salió Nacho https://t.co/JMvVvI0Sj7 #ElClásico pic.twitter.com/0LnJ2RDEpT
— AS (@diarioas) December 23, 2017
Final score: Real Madrid 0-3 Barcelona
90+4 mins: And that is it! Barcelona outclass their great rivals in a phenomenal second half, and are 14 points clear of them at the top of the table!
GOAL! Real Madrid 0-3 Barcelona (Aleix Vidal, 90+3 mins)
And that caps it! Messi just about keeps the ball in play on the right, goes past Marcelo, cuts back to the edge of the area and Vidal’s low shot goes under Navas and bobbles mournfully in!
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90+2 mins: Halfway through the three bonus minutes, and Barcelona are in complete control, and are preparing to take a corner. They are in no hurry.
90+1 mins: Into stoppage time, which starts with another Messi pass to Gomes, and a decent chance. The left-footed shot is poor, and high.
88 mins: Busquets fouls Marcelo, and is booked.
87 mins: Save! The corner is headed out to Messi, lurking on the edge of the area, and his low shot is saved by Navas. A smart low shot, but a fairly simple stop.
87 mins: Barcelona are clearly planning on keeping the ball until the end of the game. Messi dribbles into the area and tries to chip a cross to the far post, but it goes behind for a corner.
85 mins: Gomes’s first task is to collect a Messi pass on the left-hand corner of Real’s penalty area, and have a shot deflected wide.
84 mins: Marcelo is booked for being angry about something, and Gomes comes on for Paulinho.
82 mins: Now we’re having some fun. Real push forwards forward, and find some encouragement. Ramos’s shot hits Ter Stegen and goes wide. The corner is flicked on by Varane but just in front of Ramos, and then driven low by Ronaldo but still just in front of Ramos.
80 mins: And Barcelona nearly add a third! Sergi Roberto passes to Semedo, who rushes past Varane and into the area, but his shot clips Navas’s ankle and goes wide.
79 mins: Then Bale has another shot, this time from 25 yards. Ter Stegen spills it, but recovers to claim the ball just before Marcelo.
78 mins: Bale has a great chance! But from close range, his shot is saved!
76 mins: Andres Iniesta has only finished one Liga game this season, and this won’t be a second. He’s off, and Semedo is on.
74 mins: Asensio’s cross hits Sergi Roberto, and a handful of Real players join the entire crowd in screaming for a handball and a penalty. The referee doesn’t give them anything.
73 mins: Real now make that double change, bringing off Kavacic and Casemiro and bringing on Bale and Asensio.
72 mins: A fabulous exchange of passes starts with Iniesta winning the ball in his own penalty area and ends with Paulinho overhitting a crossfield pass, a dozen passes later and 30 yards further forward.
70 mins: Barcelona have been simply phenomenal in this half, and now things could get really messy. Messi has a shot from the edge of the area that Navas saves.
68 mins: That was Lionel Messi’s 50th club goal of the calendary year.
Years in which Lionel Messi has scored 50 goals for Barcelona:
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) December 23, 2017
2017 50
2016 51
2014 50
2012 79
2011 55
2010 58 pic.twitter.com/7FcNybD1u2
66 mins: Those two Suarez misses were extraordinary, though. Both fabulous chances, the second without even a goalkeeper to worry about – even if a couple of defenders still littered the path to goal. The ball then rebounded to Paulinho, whose header was on its way in until Carvajal intervened.
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65 mins: Real change their plans in a hurry, and bring Nacho on for Benzema.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona (Messi, 64 mins)
Messi thunders the ball into the net, and this game is surely won!
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RED CARD! Carvajal is off! Barcelona have a penalty!
63 mins: It’s chaos in the Real Madrid penalty area as Suarez is released by a lovely Messi pass, Navas saves, Messi sets up Suarez again, he hits the post, and in the ensuing madness Carvajal pushes the ball to safety with his hand!
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61 mins: It looks like Asensio and Bale are both coming on for Madrid.
59 mins: Sergio Ramos has been booked, for an ungainly arm-swish that connected with Suarez’s face. It didn’t look very violent, or even deliberate, as Suarez stepped across him. The Uruguayan is still pretending to be injured.
58 mins: Messi finds space in the middle, with Paulinho running to his left and Suarez to his right, and the home defence ragged. He passes to Suarez, who might have been shooting and might have been passing, it’s hard to tell, when he slipped. Either way, he scuffs it wide.
57 mins: Casemiro and Suarez compete for the ball by the touchline. It starts with shoulder barging shoulder, and then both fall over on top of each other, Suarez rolls around in mock agony and everyone gets very narked. The referee calms things well.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona (Suarez, 54 mins)
He doesn’t mess up this one, though! It’s a lovely goal, and Real are ripped apart! Rakitic sprints into way too much space in the middle of the pitch, Modric doesn’t close him down, Varane has to leave Suarez to do so and then the ball goes right to Sergi Roberto, low and hard across to Suarez, and he slams it into the net from 12 yards!
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53 mins: And again! Jordi Alba gets down the left, pulls back to Suarez, and his low shot isn’t nearly powerful enough to beat Navas.
51 mins: Another spell of Barcelona possession ends with a loose touch from Suarez. The away side are absolutely dominating the early stages of the second half.
Kovacic looks more fulltime on messi now
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) December 23, 2017
50 mins: Barcelona hog possession for an absolute age, though it ends when Suarez crosses to Modric, who clears.
47 mins: Ronaldo has the first shot of the second period, but it’s not a good one. Goal kick.
46 mins: Real get the second half started.
The players trot back out for the second half. Time to decide this.
Statistical update:
100% - Mateo Kovacic is the only player with a 100% passing accuracy in the first of #ElClasico (24/24 passes completed). Calm. pic.twitter.com/GBeZ4jDZHk
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 23, 2017
A goalless game, but far from chanceless and really quite fascinating. Real Madrid have provided the greater goal threat by some distance, while only Paulinho, who continues to make excellent runs forward from midfield and past the opposing backline, has looked like scoring for Barcelona.
Half time: Real Madrid 0-0 Barcelona
45+2 mins: The ball is in play for about two seconds of stoppage time, the time it takes for Messi’s free kick to hit Ronaldo in the wall and loop behind.
45+1 mins: Into stoppage time, of which there will be but one minute, and it starts with a free kick to Barcelona, 30 yards from goal.
42 mins: And another Real chance! It’s a cross from the left, an excellent run to the near post by Benzema, and a header that skims across goal, clips the far post and deflects and just wide!
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42 mins: Marcelona tries to multiple lollipop his way past Sergi Roberto, who takes the ball from him with ease.
40 mins: And Benzema messes up Real’s ensuing break by once again failing to find an unmarked Carvajal.
39 mins: Barcelona make another opportunity, and again it falls to Paulinho. This time Messi crosses from the left, and his near-post header is decent – low, and if not enormously powerful at least very accurate, sneaking just inside the post – but Navas saves.
34 mins: And another chance for the home team! Ronaldo is played down the right this time. There’s only Benzema to aim for, but the ball comes quickly to the Frenchman, who is mid-stride and unable to adjust. Goal kick.
31 mins: And a chance for Real! Ronaldo goes down the left, cuts into the area, approaches the corner of the six-yard box and blasts a low shot that deflects wide off Ter Stegen.
30 mins: Chance for Barcelona! Messi has the ball on the right wing, and he lifts it over the defence to Paulinho, bursting into the penalty area, whose volley is tipped over!
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28 mins: Marcelo has space to cross, but Pique heads it away. It goes back to Marcelo again, still in plenty of space, but he picks out Pique again.
26 mins: So far it’s just not quite happening for Real, and not at all happening for Barcelona.
This game lacks Neymar. On either side.
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) December 23, 2017
23 mins: “You probably weren’t expecting an email in from this part of the world, not at this time,” writes Oliver Robinson. “I’m in Wellington, New Zealand and it’s past 1am on the 24th here. I’ve stayed up through the night for this and the Everton v Chelsea game – but neither are on TV so it’s Guardian coverage for me.” So you’ve stayed up until the wee small hours to watch two games, neither of which you can watch? Sounds like a significant error to me. And, also, like bedtime.
21 mins: Ronaldo now has the ball in the area. He pauses while a variety of team-mates come forward to offer passing options, and then ignores them all to ping a shot into the shins of the nearest defender.
19 mins: A booking! Vermaelen trips Modric, and is punished for it.
18 mins: Barcelona look menacing in Real’s penalty area for the first time, but Paulinho’s low cross is cleared, under no pressure, by Varane.
15 mins: Benzema has the ball in the box, and to his right Carvajal is running into all sorts of crazy space. The Frenchman can’t pick him out, though, passing the ball to Jordi Alba instead.
14 mins: Pre-match talk was that Kovacic might be detailed to man-marking Messi. He does seem to be lurking pretty close to the Argentinian when Barcelona have the ball, but that hasn’t really been long enough to come to any conclusive judgements, and he’s certainly not limiting his movements when Real have it.
Kovacici now dropping in towards Messi. Interesting. A loose element in a midfield that is otherwise in usual positions
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) December 23, 2017
12 mins: Iniesta slides in at pace to stop Carvajal running on to the loose ball, and seems to be a bit sore from his efforts. The game is paused while he receives some treatment.
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10 mins: Chance! And Ronaldo fluffs it! The ball is pulled back from the left and Ronaldo has space in the area, runs on to it, pulls back his left boot and … misses it completely!
8 mins: Barcelona get forward, but when they find Suarez on the left flank he’s also offside. Replays suggest this was a poor decision, and Suarez gets a ticking off for suggesting this, perhaps not in the most polite terms, to the referee.
6 mins: It has been an extremely one-sided opening, the action compressed into Barcelona’s half of the pitch.
5 mins: The second shot of the game, and the first that really counted, comes from Carvajal, but it’s weak and bobbles down the middle of the goal, straight to Ter Stegen.
2 mins: Madrid win a corner, and it’s nodded on by Casemiro and turned in by Ronaldo! But he’s offside.
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1 min: “The greatest game in the world,” is the assessment of Sky’s commentator. The game is exciting enough without the ridiculous bombast, surely.
1 min: They’re off!
The players are no longer in the tunnel. Meanwhile, Harry Middleton emails a handy guide to the referee: “Jose María Sánchez Martinez, a thirty-four year old, Uefa Second Category referee from Murcia, makes his debut in a Liga Classico. He has already handled this match, in the Supercopa last August. After Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea got pushed by Ronaldo, Sánchez Martinez was under pressure for the return, and showed a really good performance. He is technically a very good referee, whilst not having a huge natural authority, his personality on the pitch is really sophisticated. This won’t be as hard as say Stark’s Classico, but of course El Classico is always a hot match.”
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The players are in the tunnel! Well, most of them are on the staircase that leads to the tunnel.
It’s pretty convenient for the English as well, so everyone’s a winner (unless you live in New Zealand, on some Pacific island – in which case you can only get away with limited whingeing – or on the west coast of the US). Though not everyone is listening to the sound of crashing surf while drinking a mango lassi.
@Simon_Burnton thank you to whoever I should thank for moving El Clásico for the Asian audience. Just watched a beautiful Balinese sunset and now reclining in the warm evening air watching the match and listening to the sound of crashing surf while drinking a mango lassi, perfect
— Ian webb (@IanwebbOU88) December 23, 2017
Just two top-class midfielders? You forgot Paulinho, surely?
@Simon_Burnton 2 top class midfielders on each side Toni K & the sensational Iniesta who shud have won The Balon D’or at least twice. I’m still wide eyed at his brilliance as my dad used to say “mother of sweet lanterin Jaysus he’s some player that little lad is”. Score draw
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) December 23, 2017
If you’d like to watch Real Madrid warm up, I have good news: you can!
The teams
The teams are in, and the headline news is that Ronaldo starts, and Bale doesn’t:
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Ronaldo, Kroos, Benzema, Modric, Marcelo, Casemiro, Kovacic. Subs: K. Casilla, Nacho, Bale, Theo, Lucas V, Asensio, Isco.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Pique, Rakitic, Sergio, Iniesta, Suarez, Messi, Paulinho, Jordi Alba, Roberto, Vermaelen. Subs: Cillessen, Semedo, Denis Suárez, Mascherano, Digne, André Gomes, Aleix Vidal.
📝🏃 #RMClasico
— Real Madrid C.F.🇬🇧 (@realmadriden) December 23, 2017
Our starting XI for the CLÁSICO! Let's do this!#HalaMadrid | #RealMadrid pic.twitter.com/5BhAxKjdGj
Barça XI
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 23, 2017
⚽️ #ElClasico
🔵🔴 #ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/bEgxxGsRIU
Hello world!
So here is Real Madrid’s motivation, and Barcelona’s. The league leaders could have a 14-point advantage over their great rivals by the final whistle, or it could be just eight.
“We have to not think about the difference in points,” fibbed Zinedine Zidane as he looked forward to this game. “I don’t think it’s a decisive match in terms of the league. You have to think positively. We’re very good and better in each area of the field. Even if we lose, the league will not be over. Every match will be a final and we’ll try to reduce the points difference but always staying calm and playing good football. It will be the most difficult game of the season, these are always exciting and hard games but that’s how we like them. Players live for games like these.”
This game is big. It is as big as league games played in December can be. By the time the teams next play in the league, two games from the end of the season in May, it may all be over. This is Madrid’s chance to turn what looks like a procession into what might turn into a chase. If they take it, it’ll be fun to watch. And if they don’t take it, it’ll also be fun to watch. It will, in short, be fun to watch. Welcome. Let’s do this.
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