The first El Clásico between Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona of the 2015-16 season was played at the Santiago Stadium in Madrid. Fly Emirates against Qatar Airways on the jerseys. The King’s team from the Capital against the separatists from Catalonia. Real had not lost a league match at home in over a year. The last time they lost was over 22 rounds ago, in the derby against Altletico. Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi started on the bench, being injured for 2 months.Barcelona, however, had the upper hand in the league as they led by 27 points against Real Madrid’s 24. Real lost points due to a loss against Sevilla recently. 170 countries and 600 million viewers watched the El Clásico. If two teams have the same number of points in La Liga, internal matches are decisive which makes these derbys extra important.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring
Real Madrid started strongly but quickly fell back when Barcelona’s players began to roll the ball between each other. It soon became clear that Real does not perform very well without the ball. They are not used to defending and became an unorganized, long and wide team.Both teams had some decent chances early on but it was Barcelona who got the lead after 10 minutes when Luis Suárez scored. Barcelona dominated the game more and more. After 25 minutes they had an advantage in ball possession of 60% to 40%. Real Madrid managed to get some half-chance after tangling in Barcelona’s penalty area, but instead it was Neymar Jr. who could score 0-2 for Barcelona in the 39th minute. Neymar was also close to serve Suárez for 0-3 in the second overtime minute in the first half, but Real Madrid could go into halftime with “only” two goals disadvantage.
White handkerchiefs
The audience at Santiago waved their white handkerchiefs. It is a gesture taken from bullfighting when the audience is dissatisfied with the matador or the bull. In the second half, Real Madrid managed to get a couple of early chances on goal but without success. Barcelona were the stronger team tonight. In the 53rd minute Iniesta passed Neymar that heeled the ball back. Iniesta made the goal of the game with a hard shot in the top corner. 0-3, thank you and good night Madrid. Barcelona also had several chances to score 0-4. After about 55 minutes Lionel Messi entered the pitch. Real Madrid made a few changes, hoping to start a more efficient offensive. Messi initially looked a little sluggish, but eventually raised his game in his 31st El Clásico. After a period of positioning in the match Barcelona’s high pressure continued. They were a synched team the whole match. Their goalkeeper Claudio Bravo did some excellent saves, including a close encounter with Cristiano Ronaldo. In the 74th minute Luis Suárez could score his second goal of the evening. He was allowed to stand unchallenged in Real’s penalty box, feinted and shot 0-4. After this game 6 points differed between the teams in La Liga and the question is if Barcelona decided the league tonight. The match ended with a red card for Real Madrid and a 0-4 victory for Catalonia and Barcelona.
The Next El Clasico played in Barcelona Sunday, April 3, 2016.
