For once, the El Clasico on Saturday was not all about Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. In fact, the two best players in the world were anonymous for large spells in the game. It was a tale of poor set-piece defending. Madrid started early while Barcelona went one better with just a minute on the clock.
After a dreary first half, the game sprang to life with Luis Suarez making no mistake from a Neymar free-kick. Madrid defender Rafael Varane was the culprit, letting the Uruguayan climb over him and head the ball into the net. The Camp Nou was shaking.
Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Messi had chances to make it 2-0 but surprisingly showed poor composure in front of goal. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s miss was the most notable of them all after Iniesta had put him through on goal with an exquisite through-ball, only for Messi to skew his shot wide.
Madrid, so expertly stopped in their tracks by a Barca defence who displayed a steely resolve that they are not quite known for. Sergio Ramos came close in then 88th minute and a minute later, the Blaugrana defence went to sleep from a free-kick. The Real Madrid defender scored one of the easier goals in his career to help his side draw level and maintain their six-point lead at the top.
Chucking the bad blood that has spilled over between the bitter rivals over the years, the two teams stood side by side to pay homage to Chapecoence Real, who lost many of their players and coaching staff in a plane crash recently.