El Clasico. This was a game worthy of the moniker. Real Madrid and Barcelona played out possibly the most thrilling Clasico in recent history with Barcelona running out 2-3 victors on the night in La Liga.
Casemiro opened the scoring for Madrid before Lionel Messi equalised. Ivan Rakitic then gave Barcelona the lead in the second half before James Rodriguez restored parity for Los Blancos. However, Messi was on hand again to score in injury time to break Madrid hearts.
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Here are the major talking points from the game.
#1 Casemiro had the most impact on the game – even while off the pitch
There were 6 pivotal moments in the game:
1. Casemiro's goal | 2. Leo Messi's goal | 3. Ivan Rakitic's goal | 4. Sergio Ramos' red card | 5. James Rodriguez' goal | 6. Leo Messi's 2nd goal
The Brazilian impacted five of these pivotal moments. I've said it before; Casemiro – not Cristiano Ronaldo – is Real Madrid's most important player. The early yellow card he picked up decided the course of the game.
Casemiro's opener was cleverly taken, but the yellow served to only make the Brazilian play in a far more circumspect manner which saw him go missing when Messi charged through the middle for the equaliser.
Once he was taken off, Madrid collapsed. Casemiro would not have been wrong-footed as Toni Kroos was when Rakitic scored. And he would have been present to shackle Messi when Ramos dived in foolishly to get sent off.
Who's present for Real Madrid when there is a counter? Casemiro. The Brazilian stops Sergi Roberto's run in injury time, failing that, he would have been present to block Messi in the box – the standard position for a decent defensive midfielder when a cross is cut back into the box.
#2 Messi's deep role
I'll admit that ahead of the game I railed against Barcelona's use of Lionel Messi in a deep role. He looked half the player he is against Juventus, and conversely also thwarted Barcelona's effectiveness in attack.
Messi is Messi though, and the Argentine played the deeper role to perfection tonight. He drove at Real Madrid's backline throughout, with Casemiro and Marcelo both lucky to escape red cards as they dished out the rough stuff.
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Personifying William Ernest Henley's iconic poem, Invictus, the Argentine's first pivotal moment came when he equalised for Barcelona – a late run from deep was found by Rakitic and with a balletic swivel of his body, he sidestepped challenges from Modric and Carvajal, before calmly slotting past Navas.
He continued to be at the end of Madrid's worst tackles, which gave Ramos an early bath. Still, the Argentine persevered.
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
Messi then proved exactly why he is the greatest. He made another late run from his deep role, and as the ball arrived at his feet, La Liga was on the line. Not a moment's hesitation, as the little wizard swept the ball home to win it in injury time for Barcelona, and score his 500th goal for Barcelona.
No one could have scripted it any better.
#3 Ronaldo and Ramos faltered, badly
Messi’s star will shine brightest following this game, but what will hurt Cristiano Ronaldo more is that, for the first time in a long while, he failed spectacularly when the pressure was on. The forward could have won a penalty in the 2nd minute, but things went downhill after that.
The moment that will be replayed in his head as he lays to rest tonight will be the shot he scooped over the bar in the 67th minute with the goal at his mercy. Score that, and the story of the night might have been very different.
And nothing proves how bad Ronaldo was tonight, other than this:
Real Madrid’s two leaders are Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos. With the Portuguese star misfiring, you would expect the Spanish centre-back to keep a level head, but Ramos is.... Ramos.
I won’t espouse further, other that to point out that when he made his awful two-footed challenge on Messi in the 77th minute, Ramos had neither won a single tackle nor made a single interception all game.
#4 Goalkeepers
Football is a cruel game to goalkeepers. There were five goals scored in the game but Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Keylor Navas were two of the best players on the pitch. Neither player deserved to be on the losing end as they pulled off save after save.
Ter Stegen was ultimately the victor amongst the two keepers and he was on hand to make some crucial saves at pivotal moments. With the score at 1-1, Ter Stegen denied Real Madrid with an incredible save from a Karim Benzema effort. The German shut up his doubters with a stellar performance that saw some incredible reaction saves.
In a similar vein, Navas also kept Real Madrid in the game with some crucial saves, denying Gerard Pique from an excellent header first, and then a point-blank save later on. The Madrid shot-stopper has been criticised heavily of late, having conceded in each of his last 16 appearances, but showed that it is perhaps the fault of the defence in front of him.
#5 The resurrection of careers, and La Liga
El Clasico is the biggest game in the world and opinions are often formed based on this game alone. It’s harsh, but that is the nature of football sometimes. Yet tonight, two players may have saved their future at the club – Ivan Rakitic and James Rodriguez.
The Croatian has been downright awful all season and looked worse and confused once Messi began to play in the deep role. However, Rakitic played almost like a winger tonight, and was devastatingly effective, getting an assist and a superb goal, and could have had more.
James Rodriguez could have been the rescuer for Real Madrid, if not for Leo Messi, and the Colombian looked effective when he came on.
Many opinions were changed tonight – Luis Enrique outsmarted Zinedine Zidane tactically, and with the La Liga title race back on, Luis Enrique could end the season with a domestic double and sign off on a deservedly good note.
