Madrid – Real Madrid finishes its little dry spell in the Clásico against Barcelona of all places. It doesn’t look like it for a long time, then the first triumph in almost four years is in sight.
Victory in the giant duel!
Real Madrid won the eagerly awaited 244th Clásico 2-0 win over FC Barcelona, not only knocking their big rivals off the top of the league but also putting an end to two dry spells.
Real win first Clásico since 2016
After three games in a row without a win (defeat against Levante and ManCity, draw against Celta Vigo) the royals managed to turn the tide in the “Week of Truth”.
The club won a summit meeting with their arch-rivals for the first time since April 2016, with the last win in Madrid coming in October 2014: “My goal was a wonderful moment, Piqué deflected the ball but it was my shot and a fine pass from Toni [Kroos]. We played great and we won, that’s what counts,” said goalscorer Vinicius Júnior, who had given Real the lead after Kroos returned from the start.
First half goes to Barca
At first it didn’t look like a real victory, because the first half of the race went completely to the guests. Keeper Thibaut Courtois kept his team in the game with brilliant saves against Arthur (34.) and Lionel Messi (38.).
The Catalans’ only shortcoming: Despite their superiority, the team was not rewarded with a goal.
Busquets: Then you get into trouble with Real
After the break, the 78,000 spectators – including ex-real star Cristiano Ronaldo, who was able to be on site with Juventus due to a postponement of the match – were presented with a completely different picture at the sold-out Estadio Santiago Bernabéu: Real took over the reins of the game.
“We played a good first half where a lot of things were going forward. In the second half it changed, Real pressed harder, interrupted early and we had difficulties. Then they score the goal. If you don’t set up the game well, you’ll get into trouble with Real. We missed to get ahead in the standings, but there is still enough time in the league to correct that,” Sergio Busquets summed up after the game.
Vinicius breaks Messi record
At first Marc-André ter Stegen was able to parry Isco and Karim Benzema, but when Vinicius finished, the German goalkeeper was powerless.
After Kroos’ presentation, Gerard Piqué – who had previously scored on the line against Isco – faked the youngster’s finish in an untenable way (70.).
At 19 years and 233 days, Vinicius is the youngest player in the 21st century to score in a clásico – breaking Messi’s record set in March 2007 (19 years and 259 days).
Real overtakes Barca in the table
After a strong rescue of Marcelo against Messi (75th), substitute Mariano Diaz finally scored in injury time to end the game with a 2-0 final score (90.+2).
In the standings, coach Zinédine Zidane’s side passed the Catalans with this trio and regained the top spot in La Liga.