Barcelona: Lionel Messi sets an unassailable record versus Real Madrid
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has just proven that he can set tormenting milestones in spite of having two not-so-good matches against his side’s bitterest rival.
Barcelona rounded off a stunning week on Saturday evening thanks to a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium just two days after battering them 3-0 in the Copa del Rey. The captain Leo Messi was omnipresent in both these matches, and while Real Madrid’s backline managed to keep him quite, he still managed to set records despite not scoring or even assisting.
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Ivan Rakitic’s goal sent the Catalans twelve points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga Santander but Messi was at the end of a potentially unassailable record. With 26 goals to his name in El Clasicos, the Argentinian genius is already the top scoring player in this historic tie, but he loves to antagonize the Bernabeu more often than he scores at the Nou Camp in these clashes and that is clearly visible with his record.
The last two wins in Spain’s capital in favour of Barcelona meant that Lionel Messi has now won 12 El Clasico matches out of a total 19 in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. That figure puts him right up there as the player with most wins in the backyard of Barcelona’s arch rivals in the 21st century. That has not come without the help with some world-class teammates of course, but unfortunately, those have to follow the Little Man.
Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique who have been superb against Real Madrid in their outings in recent memory are jointly second on 11 wins whereas club legend Andres Iniesta is third on 9 victories. Dani Alves and Xavi Hernandez complete the top five as they tie themselves on 8 victories each on the White House. Interestingly, since the famous 2-6 win in favour of Barcelona in 2008/09, they have won a whopping 11 matches at the Bernabeu.
The last two wins were very significant in Barcelona’s quest for the treble as they are now in the Copa del Rey Final for a sixth straight season and have a date set up versus Valencia. In La Liga, they lead Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid by seven and twelve points respectively. Next up, they host Madrid-based outlet Rayo Vallecano in the Nou Camp, but that’s after a Catalan Super Cup fixture versus Girona on Wednesday.
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What do you think will happen to the hype of Barcelona vs Real Madrid clashes after Messi?