Real Madrid’s La Liga title dream is over, after they were comfortably beaten 0-3 by Barcelona in El Clasico on Saturday 23rd December. The result leaves Los Blancos trailing in the wake of their bitter rivals. The points deficit now stands at fourteen points, giving them an almost impossible task, despite having a game in hand.
It could have been very different, as Real Madrid started the match with real attacking intent. On 2 minutes Cristiano Ronaldo had a goal disallowed for offside. The 2017 Ballon d’Or winner then failed to connect to a Toni Kroos cross that looked a good opportunity. Karim Benzema also hit the post in the first half but having failed to take their chances, there was always a risk that Barcelona would make Real Madrid pay.
That’s exactly what transpired. Less than ten minutes after the restart, Ivan Rakitic was in acres of space and free to find Sergi Roberto who set up Luis Suarez for an easy finish to open the scoring. Things then went from bad to worse when Suarez had a shot saved, then hit the post, before Paulinho headed the rebound goalwards.
It would have been a goal but Dani Carvajal pulled off a save that Keylor Navas would have been proud of. It was deliberate handball and the referee had no option but to send him off and award Barca a penalty. Lionel Messi dispatched the spot-kick confidently and at that point the match and Real’s title hopes were pretty much over.
Gareth Bale came off the bench but could do little to help Real Madrid back into the game. With a numerical advantage, Barcelona comfortably saw the game out without ever really being threatened. Aleix Vidal was introduced late on by the visitors and he completed the scoring in injury time following a clever cutback by Messi.
