Madrid: Real Madrid’s hopes of retaining their La Liga title appeared to be fading fast as goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal propelled Barcelona to a 3-0 win in the ‘Clasico’ at the Santiago Bernabeu here Saturday, lifting them 14-points clear of their rivals in the standings.
Suarez capitalised on wide open space in Real Madrid’s midfield to knock in a simple pass from Sergi Roberto following a breakaway move in the 54th minute. That opened the scoring after a tense but tight first half in the early afternoon sun.
Messi hammered in the second goal from the penalty spot 20 minutes later after Dani Carvajal was sent off for blocking a goal-bound header from Paulinho with his arm after Real Madrid were again easily picked apart on the counter attack.
Catalan defender-turned-winger Vidal hit the third in injury time to pile more misery on Real, who looked unrecognisable from the side who crushed Barca 5-1 on aggregate in the Spanish Super Cup in August.
The hosts failed to capitalise on their chances in the first half as Karim Benzema’s header came off the post and Cristiano Ronaldo was denied by the flailing leg of Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. However, the European and La Liga champions collapsed after the interval and Barca took full advantage.
Instead of the usual late evening kick-off time, Spain’s premier club fixture took place at 1200 GMT in a bid to capture a record television audience in Asia.
It was also played in the backdrop of a political crisis in the country, coming two days after elections in Catalonia in which separatist parties won a majority.
Real’s supporters unfurled a giant banner before kick-off to boast of the unprecedented five trophies the team had won in 2017. The volume in the packed Bernabeu was cranked up when Ronaldo headed a corner in off the crossbar in under two minutes but the offside flag halted the premature celebrations.
Barca, the only unbeaten team in the league, took a less active role than they have in recent games at the Bernabeu, with their best chances before the break falling to Brazilian midfielder Paulinho.
As usual throughout the game it was Messi who tormented the rival defence. The second goal came after Messi had put through Suarez. His shot was blocked by Keylor Navas and in the ensuing melee, Paulinho’s header was stopped with his hands by Carvajal prompting an immediate red card.
Messi was again the creator when he rounded past two Real Madrid players and laid the perfect ball for Vidal to smash home and the entire Barca bench jumping in joy.
reuters
