The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from El Clásico

BARCELONA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 07: Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid CF (R) is brought down by Sergio Busquets of FC Barcelona during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Mdrid CF at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona and Real Madrid played out a highly entertaining 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp on Sunday. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, when his powerful left-footed shot beat Victor Valdes at the near post. Lionel Messi answered, as he capitalised on Pepe’s mistimed jump, to score from close range in the 31st minute. The 61st minute saw a moment of brilliance from Messi, as he curled in a free kick past a diving Iker Casillas. However, like Messi in the first half, Ronaldo answered the challenge by scoring from a beautiful through ball by Mesut Özil to equalize for Real Madrid.

There was more Barcelona pressure late on, as Martín Montoya hit the cross-bar. However, Real managed to hold on for a much deserved draw at the end, and Barcelona retained their eight-point lead over Real in La Liga. Here is a look at some of the best and worst moments from the most recent El Clásico:

BARCELONA, SPAIN – AUGUST 23: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona (2ndR) duels for the ball with Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabio Coentrao (2ndL) and Xabi Alonso of Real Madrid CF during the Super Cup first leg match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou.

The Good: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

In a game of superstars, all the pre-game talk was about how many goals Ronaldo and Messi would score, and how much they would contribute to their teams. As it turned out, both were immense for their respective clubs, and scored all the four goals between them. Ronaldo was powerful and direct every time he got the ball, and gave Dani Alves a miserable time in the first half. Both of his goals showed his amazing ability as a finisher. In addition, he also showed a lot of bravery by playing on, despite a shoulder injury from a mistimed bicycle kick.

“For once, he is seeking attention, instead of attention seeking”

- Commentator Rob Palmer, on Ronaldo’s reaction to his shoulder injury

If Ronaldo was brilliant, so too was Messi. He was relatively mute in the first half hour of the game, when Real dominated. However, he got the telling touch for Barcelona’s equalizer. Subsequently, he came into the game more, supplying endless passes, and trying to release team-mates into goal scoring opportunities countless times. His free kick for the second goal was sublime, and on par with anything that David Beckham offered in his prime.

It is very hard to actually separate both Ronaldo and Messi for the Man of the Match award. However, both kept up their incredible scoring records, and their performances in the most important game of their season so far. Ronaldo has now scored in six consecutive Clásicos. Meanwhile, Messi is just one behind Alfredo Di Stéfano in the list of top all-time goalscorers in El Clásicos.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 19: Dani Alves of FC Barcelona controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group G match between FC Barcelona and FC Spartak Moscow at Camp Nou on September 19, 2012. Barcelona won 3-2.

The Bad: Pepe and Dani Alves

Pepe actually played like a football player in this game, not like a thug, as he has sometimes done in the past. However, there was one moment in the first half which spoiled his work in this game. In the 31st minute, a cross came in from the left side of Real’s defense, which Pepe tried to head away. However, he jumped too early, and ended up making a hash of his clearance. Messi subsequently capitalized on this mistake to equalize for Barcelona. Till this point, Real had Barca on the ropes, and the equaliser directly from Pepe’s mistake, led to a decisive swing in momentum of the match.

On the Barcelona side, Dani Alves had a torrid 28 minutes, as he tried to tame a rampant Cristiano Ronaldo. Before going off with injury, Dani Alves looked like one of the weakest links in defence, despite being the senior member of the back four. It is possible that he was struggling with his hamstring even before he went off, but Dani Alves’ performance did nothing to help his side contain the threats of Real Madrid.

The Ugly: Karim Benzema and Adriano

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – OCTOBER 03: Karim Benzema (#9) of Real in action during the UEFA Champions League Group D match between Ajax Amsterdam and Real Madrid at Amsterdam Arena on October 3, 2012.

This wasn’t a particularly ugly game, as the teams let their football do the talking, rather than physically fight each other. However, there were two players who had abysmal games. Karim Benzema, chosen ahead of Gonzalo Higuain, had a stinker in front of goal. It began with a volley from the left side of the area, which he skewed so wide it almost went for a throw-in. The second chance he spurned was even simpler, as he didn’t make good contact with a pass from Khedira, and the ball looped up to hit the cross-bar. Based on his performance in the game, it is not hard to imagine Higuain’s presence, which could well have made the difference for the Los Blancos in this game.

One player who had an even worse time in this match was Adriano, who was playing out of position in the centre of defence. His lack of experience in the position showed, as he was constantly on a different wavelength to his fellow defenders. Real often found lots of spaces around him. In addition, he played Ronaldo onside for Real’s equalizer. Tito Vilanova will probably hope one of his other central defenders comes back to fitness sooner rather than later, so he can move Adriano to his preferred position at left-back.