The 100th El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu was kicked off by Sanchez Martinez as Real Madrid looked to tame their rivals once more. Going into the fixture, both sides were level on points but Barcelona were in 1st place in the table as their goal difference was higher than that of Real Madrid. Madrid came into the fixture having won five of their last six competitive matches against the Catalans.
The match started off in superb fashion for Los Blancos as Karim Benzema scored the opener to take them to a 1-0 lead. Toni Kroos broke free to release Vinicius who went on a fine run down the left and into the box where his initial attempt deflected off keeper ter Stegen and onto Benzema who arrived on spot to slot it in from 15 yards.
Madrid kept the pace steady as they were looking good with the ball. In the 35th minute, it was Fede Valverde who again showed his prowess in big matches. The Uruguayan was constantly showing his presence on the pitch and this time he scored Madrid’s second goal. It was again Vinicius who charged at the Barcelona defense and found Mendy who in turn found Valverde on the edge of the box. Valverde then sent a low shot firing past ter Stegen’s reach and into the bottom left corner to make it 2-0.
The second half proved to be more of Barcelona at the initial stages as they were able to get up field into the Madrid box more often. Tactical moves probably from Xavi as he introduced Ferran Torres, Gavi and Jordi Alba all at once. Barcelona left it late as in the 83rd minute, they got a goal back. Ansu Fati was the one who found space on the left and into the Madrid box he went, finding Lewandowski who realizing he can’t shoot, flicked it onto Ferran Torres who sent it past Lunin into the far corner to make it 2-1.
The goal was sure to give Madrid some last minute nerves but they held on and attempted to get into the Barcelona penalty area once more. This time it was Rodrygo who made it into the box but was tripped by Eric Garcia who appeared to step on Rodrygo’s left foot. VAR checked for a foul and eventually Sanchez Martinez signaled to the penalty spot. Rodrygo eventually took it and calmly scored Madrid’s third goal.
By the time Barcelona could do something, it was all over at the Bernabeu. Another successful outing for Los Blancos as they get the better of their long time rivals. A convincing win that sends them to the top of the La Liga table and they are now 3 points clear of Barcelona who are in second with 22 points.
Image credits: Twitter/realmadrid
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