Tag Archives: elclasico

The rival matchup between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in Spanish La Liga attracts attention every year, and 2016-2017 is no exception. It is a classic meeting between two of football’s giants, and the outcome is often a deciding factor for what team will win La Liga at the end of the season. In this post we present the dates for the El Clásico of the 2016-2017 season.

El Clásico 2016-2017

Saturday, 3 December 2016: FC Barcelona – Real Madrid @ Camp Nou

Sunday, 23 April 2017: Real Madrid – FC Barcelona @ Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

There you have them. Of course there might be additional meetings between the two rivals in the Spanish Cup as well as in Champions League.

In the 2015-2016 season, Barcelona outplayed Real Madrid 0-4 at Bernabeu after goals from Luis Suárez, Neymar and Andrés Iniesta. In the second El Clásico of the season, Real Madrid managed to get the 1-2 win at Camp Nou. Barcelona FC later won La Liga. Real Madrid’s season ended happily as well, with a Champions League triumph against local rivals Athlético.

Current standings in La Liga

At the moment of writing, Real Madrid is ahead in La Liga after 12 rounds. They are positioned at the top with 30 points (9-3-0) with Barcelona trailing at second place with 26 points (8-2-2). Real looks stronger than ever this season while Barcelona has had a tough start with two losses. A win on December 3 is a must in order for Barcelona to gain on their rivals. Usually we lift a warning finger for Athlético when it comes to winning La Liga as well, but they have had a slow start, with a 6-3-3- record and are positioned at fifth place with 21 points. The other day they lost 0-3 at home against local rivals Real Madrid. Real Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick.

We will update this post as more games are played. Until then, we look forward to following the 2016-2017 El Clásico!

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.

When Barcelona and Real Madrid met in Madrid in October, Real won with 3-1. Before tonight’s game Barcelona was in the top of La Liga 1 point before trailing Real. It was Barcelona who got the best start at Camp Nou. Defender Jeremy Mathieu made it 1-0 for the home team with an excellent header in the 19th minute. A bit in the first half the match turned into Real Madrid’s favor though. They put a lot of pressure on Barcelona’s defenses and Ronaldo could tie the game with his 1-1-goal in the 31st minute. Real could have scored again before the half time but the score was tied after 45 minutes of play.

Advantage Barcelona in the second half

In the second half Barcelona got their game going thanks to a goal by Luis Suarez. The goal seemed to come in a time of the game when Real had full control. Two defencemen couldn’t stop Suarez though and he made no mistake, making it 2-1 to the home team. This must have improved the home team’s esteem since they rounded up a lot of chances on goal from Messi, Suarez and Neymar. However, 2-1 became the final result and this might have been the deciding game in La Liga with 10 rounds left.

99 000 spectators on Camp Nou could enjoy a home team win, a lot of yellow cards and rough plays, and 3 beautiful goals. Football when it’s at its best!

This might not be the last time we see the two Spanish giants face each other this season though. If we are in luck, we get to see a third El Clásico this season if the teams get drawn against each other in the Champions League semi finals or final. In the quarter finals Barcelona face Paris SG while Real Madrid are drawn against their local rivals Atlético.