5 Barcelona-Real Madrid post match thoughts

Real Madrid stunned Barcelona with a 2-1 victory, but what did we learn about each La Liga club?

It’s difficult for El Clasico to ever truly live up to the hype, but Real Madrid and Barcelona produced a really interesting match for their worldwide audience yesterday. There were a myriad of story lines littered about the pitch, but as always, some things about the match were more interesting than others.

The fact that the La Liga crown has already been locked up by Barcelona means that the subplots of the match are the real story. Here are X things we learned after El Clasico.

1. Luis Suarez is not a changed man

The talented Barca striker was fortunate to finish the match. His behavior has been much improved since his arrival from Liverpool, but under the pressure of El Clasico, he showed signs of cracking.

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Early in the first half he fluffed an easy finish in front of a reasonably open net and things didn’t improve from there. He received a yellow card for a targeted elbow and lashed out again in the second half that could have easily seen him sent off. Suarez may have grown up a bit, but he’s still subject to idiotic mistakes at big moments.

2. Sergio Ramos can’t be trusted

I half expect to read a headline tomorrow accusing Ramos of throwing the match for some sort of organized crime family. He was a reckless fool all match long and was mercifully sent off late in the second half.

In truth, he should have seen red in the first half after a horror challenge against Lionel Messi. That was an obvious yellow, and he’d already received a caution for dissent just a few minutes earlier. He continued to issue rash challenges all over the pitch before he finally received his second red.

There’s a fine line between being your team’s physical presence in the middle of the pitch and being reckless. Ramos was miles across that line during El Clasico.

3. Gareth Bale should have been the hero

Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines with his classy finish to put Real Madrid ahead 2-1, but he didn’t deserve to be the start on everyone’s lips. Instead, that honor should have gone to Gareth Bale.

Just minutes prior to Ronaldo’s goal, Bale headed in what appeared to be a monumental goal only to see it disallowed by the official. The referee claimed Bale had pushed the defender en route to his finish, but the replay clearly showed he had eyes only for the ball.

It’s also easy to forget that Ronaldo’s goal came off a deft pass from the Welshman. Bale truly deserved to be Madrid’s hero of the day.

4. The match meant much more to Real Madrid

It was pretty clear that Real Madrid was absolutely desperate to knock Barcelona off. On the other hand, Messi and company seemed to treat the encounter much more like a normal La Liga encounter.

As a Barcelona fan that might frustrate me, but it speaks to the side’s brilliance this season. They weren’t going to be bothered by a game that isn’t vital to their quest for silverware. Simply put, they have bigger fish to fry.

On the other hand, Los Blancos came into this match knowing that it needed a victory to salvage something out of their season. They’re likely out of the title race and manager Zinedine Zidane needed a signature win to boost his chances of returning as the teams’ manager next season. Real Madrid played like a team that had to win, and they got the job done.

5. Karim Benzema is still a big-time talent

The French striker has a plethora of off the pitch issues, but on the field of play he’s still a star striker. He was a real threat for Madrid all match long and scored a well-deserved goal to tie the match.

This doesn’t mean that Benzema deserves to be back for the club next year, but he’s going to get an opportunity to play at another big club if he’s forced away from the Spanish giants. He’s just that good.

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