Highlights of the second El Clasico of the 2019-20 La Liga season between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu.
That's all for tonight. Thank you so much for joining us. Until next time, it's goodbye! CIAO!
Real Madrid ends a winless run at home and its chances of winning a silverware this season is still alive.
In the overall head-to-head La Liga El Clasico win count, Real now leads Barcelona 73-72.
With this win, Real Madrid climbs back to the top of the table with 56 points and Barca is now second with 55.
What a night of football. Barcelona started the second half off strong but one could always sense a goal from Vinicius, who looked like scoring all night. He eventually did in the 71st minute and Barca's residual hopes were shattered when Mariano, just a minute after his introduction, hammered the final nail in the coffin to make it 2-0.
FULL-TIME WHISTLE AND REAL MADRID HAS WON THE 2ND EL CLASICO OF THE SEASON!!!
90+2' GOOOOOALLLLL!! MARIANO MAKES INSTANT IMPACT AND THAT'S GAME OVER!!! HE JUST CAME ON! He is in tears and he cannot believe it. He gets past Umtiti in the left wing and cuts in swiftly. He only has the keeper to beat and he does it with great composure.
90+1' SUBSTITUTION FOR REAL MADRID: MARIANO- IN| BENZEMA- OUT
90+1'- Messi's free-kick collected by Courtois.
Three minutes have been added on!
A minute left in this contest.
88' FOUL! Busquets brings down Vazquez right outside the box and the free-kick is from a dangerous position. Ramos and Kroos near the ball. Ramos to take it and he rifles it into the wall.
86' SUBSTITUTION FOR REAL MADRID! LUCAS VAZQUEZ- IN| VALVERDE- OUT
85' YELLOW CARD FOR MESSI! Casemiro was breaking free down the centre and Messi puts in a sliding tackle from the back. The challenge had yellow card written all over it and Messi's smile said it all.
84' BARCELONA GET AWAY THIS TIME! It's Vinicius in the middle of the action again. Modric's tussle with Barca defenders inside their box is stolen away by Vinicius. However, his first touch is too strong and is eventually saved by a sliding ter Stegen, who is off his line. Lucky for Barcelona, the ball finds a Barca player and not a white shirt.
82' Free-kick for Barcelona as Modric brings down Fati. Messi to take the set piece. Messi's outswinger is met by Pique but the Spaniard isn't able to angle the ball into the goal and ends up hitting it well over.
80' DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION FOR BARCELONA: FATI, RAKITIC- IN| GRIEZMANN, ARTHUR- OFF
79' SUBSTITUTION FOR REAL MADRID! Luka Modric- IN| Isco- OUT
77' Braithwaite at it again but poor selection hurts him! On the left, goes deep to the byline and drills in a low cross off-balance. The ball, meant to find Griezmann, ends up in Courtois' arms.
75' GREAT TACKLE FROM MARCELO! Messi was almost one-on-one with the keeper but Marcelo and Varane track back swiftly and Marcelo puts in a timely sliding tackle from the back to dispossess Messi and then Varane does the clean-up act.
71' GOOOOOALLLLL! Vinicius Junior has broken the deadlock with a brilliant finish!!! On one end, Braithwaite could have scored but he ends up conceding one on the other end. The Barca defence is caught sleeping again as it allows Kroos ample time on the ball on the left channel to wait for Vinicius to run in and collect a simple pass from Kroos. He then charges inside the box and his shot deflects off Pique and ends up in the back of the net.
70' BRAITHWAITE COULD HAVE WON IT BY HIS FIRST TOUCH! On a pitch of relatively tired players, Martin's pace can prove to be a real threat. He breaks through the right and cuts in for a shot but it is saved by Courtois.
69' SUBSTITUTION FOR BARCELONA: BRAITHWAITE COMES ON TO HIS EL CLASICO DEBUT| VIDAL- OUT
69' OFFSIDE! Kroos' corner is punched weakly by ter Stegen. Carvajal heads the ball back towards goal and Ramos controls the loopy ball really well but is ruled off side.
Just 25 minutes left in this half and Real Madrid is bossing the game at the moment.
64' Real Madrid appeal for a penalty as Vinicius is brought down inside the box by Arthur but the referee is not interested.
63' BENZEMA BLAZES OVER! Where is the Barcelona defence? Once again, the ball is given away in its own half and Carvajal lays up a delicious ball to Benzema with a chip. But the striker, from a tight angle io the right, shoots the ball over.
61' ISSCCOOOOO AND TER STEGEN SAVES AGAIN AND PIQUE WITH A GOAL LINE CLEARANCE! Carvajal, on the right, somehow finds room, while being surrounded by two defenders, to dish out a cross from the byline! Isco has a free header and he just beats ter Stegen only to find Pique at the line.
59' Messi gets away with a yellow card booking! His tussle with Marcelo ends in the Argentine pulling the latter down. Referee lets it go!
56' WHAT A SAVVVVEEEEEE! THAT IS FOOTBALL OF THE HIGHEST CALIBRE! Superman ter Stegen denies Isco! What a moment in the match! It all started with Benzema being dispossessed inside the Barca box by Semedo, who gives away the ball with his next touch. Then. Real wins the corner and Kross takes a short one. The ball from Marcelo is played moved to Isco on the right, who hits it brilliantly towards the far top corner. But ter Stegen is up to the task as he flies to concede the corner!
54' Umtiti plays it to Alba in the left and he plays crosses it back inside the box but the ball is cleared away!
53' VINICIUS TAKES THE BALL DEEP ON THE LEFT AND HIS CUTBACK FROM THE BYLINE IS, ONCE AGAIN, INTERCEPTED BY PIQUE!
48' FIRST CORNER OF THE HALF FOR BARCA! Messi's shot from the edge of the box is blocked by Valverde and Alba retains possession but his shot is flicked behind the final third for a Barca corner kick. Pique heads the ball over from the corner.
Cristiano Ronaldo is at Camp Nou!!!!! Honestly, Real could use Ronaldo right now! The team has missed a goal scorer like him.
2nd half begins! Barcelona gets the second half underway.
The start was cagey but the game started to take shape after the first 20 minutes. Real Madrid looked to threaten by creating early chances but once Messi found his feet, the momentum tilted instantly. Two of his shots were saved by Courtois and Arthur and Griezmann squandered their chances.
45' No additional time in the first half as referee blows the whistle to bring the first half to an end!
41' ON THE COUNTER, VINICIUS' CUTBACK, LOOKING FOR ISCO, is intercepted!
40' Carvajal with an excellent save!!! Semedo zips down the left and Real defenders look second best for a short while. Semedo squares a low cross and just before Vidal can get foot on ball, Carvajal intercepts.
38' MESSSIIII AND COURTOIS SAVES AGAIN! WHAT A SAVE! Busquets almost helps Messi unlock Real's defence with a lob through to Messi. The Argentine beats Varane in the centre with a great first touch off his chest and takes a crack at goal. But Courtois is in the way of Messi and goal again as he parries away the ball to keep it 0-0. His third of the match.
37' VINICIUS' SHOT SAVED! After Griezmann's shot is blocked just outside the Real Madrid box, the ball falls to Isco. From the centre, he threads a great through ball to Vinicius on the left. He is up against four Barca defenders and is cornered! Benzema is lurking at the edge of the box in the centre but under pressure, Vinicius goes for goal himself and ter Stegen pouches the curler with ease.
34' COURTOIS WITH A BRILLIANT SAVE!!! Griezmann, from the centre, frees Arthur down the left. The Brazilian zips down the channel on his own and from the edge of the box, takes a crack at goal. But the Madrid keeper does well to charge forward, make himself big and make the save to concede a corner.
32' ALBA GETS AWAY WITH A SECOND YELLOW! A clumsy challenge on Valverde. The referee doesn't even give a free-kick and Alba survives.
30' MESSI ON TARGET BUT SHOT SAVED! Well, well well! Messi and co. are shifting gears now. Arthur, Vidal and Messi combine to outfox the Los Bloncos centre-backs and eventually, Messi's right-footed drive from inside the box is comfortably saved by Courtois.
29' KROOS OVER AGAIN! Vinicius with a lovely cross from the left and Benzema lays it for Kroos. But the German sweeps it over the bar from just outside the box.
28' Messi finally beginning to find his feet. Plays a lovely one-two with Griezmann and when he makes his way into the box, he is dispossessed by a gutsy tackle from Casemiro.
27' VALVERDE WITH A PEACH OF A CROSS, BUT BENZEMA FAILS TO GET IN ON TIME! A lovely curler from the right by Valverde but nobody to meet it.
Messi, who is making a record 43rd appearance , has been kept quiet so far.
The game has finally started to take shape since the past few minutes.
21' GRIEZMANNNNN! JUST OVER! What passing there from Barcelona. Griezmann plays a quick pass to Messi, who frees up Alba in the left channel. Alba then squares it back to Griezmann, who is now inside the box. The French international blazes the shot over. Should have at least found the target there.
21' BLOCKED! Courtois survives a scare as the back pass to him was almost intercepted by Griezmann. On the counter-attack, Isco from down the centre, frees Marcelo on the left. He crosses it left but the ball is cleared by Pique.
It is pouring in Madrid at the moment.
19' CARVAJAL AND JORDI ALBA GET A YELLOW EACH! The referee is taking no nonsense today. After referee blows the whistle for a foul committed by Alba, Carvajal and Alba get into a pushing match. In the end, they end up being booked.
18' Varane with great defending on this occassion. De Jong with a first-time pass to Griezmann and the French international was almost freed there. But Ramos and Varane do well to cut him off.
17' Semedo with a great challenge. Once again, Real Madrid attack through the left wing and has Vinicius at the heart of the it. The Real player cuts in but is soon dispossessed by an incoming Semedo.
15' KROOS GOES OVER! Marcelo lays a lovely little through ball to Vinicius into the Barca box and Vinicius squares it back to Kroos and his shot flies over from the edge of the box.
12' Important header from Pique. Valverde, showing excellent feet deep in the right flank, lays a backheel pass to Benzema. The cross into the box is then headed away by Pique.
11' YELLOW FOR VINICIUS! Semedo was making good inroads in the right channel and looking to break into the centre. But Vinicius pulls him down from behind and he was destined to be booked there.
10' Another cross from the left flank is blocked again and this time, the ball flies to the Barcelona 'keeper, ter Stegen.
Barcelona has controlled most of the possession so far but we know that can change quickly.
7' OVER! First real chance of the match, half chance really. After a scrappy corner and even poor clearance, the ball falls to Benzema at the edge of the box and he shoots. The volley over the cross-bar.
6' Another corner for Real Madrid. Vinicius wins a corner from the left wing as Pique gets in the way of the cross to send the ball past the byline.
2' De Jong charges forward on the left flank but has no support and is dispossessed.
2' Early corner for Real Madrid. Kroos take is from the left and it's cleared away by Vidal.
Real Madrid gets us underway!!
The players are ready. Real Madrid in white and Barcelona in its traditional home kit.
Stats for the game:
- Barcelona has only won one of its last four away La Liga games, the last one being a 3-2 win vs Real Betis. It has drawn two and lost a game in this run and has conceded two goals in each of the four matches.
- After its 0-1 defeat to Valencia, Real Madrid could lose consecutive La Liga games only for the second time under Zinedine Zidane and for the first time since the last two matchdays of the 2018/19 season.
- Barcelona has won its last four Clasicos at Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga, becoming the only team to win four consecutive away games against Real Madrid in the history of the competition.
A loss today will majorly dent Real Madrid's hopes of winning a silverware this season.Last time it happened was in the 2009/10 season. 2nd in the league, semifinal of the champions league
Real Madrid has not won any of its last seven La Liga games against Barcelona (D3, L4). If it loses this game, it will suffer its worst such streak in the competition in El Clasico history.
- Barcelona has won more La Liga games against Real Madrid than any other side (72), while the vice-versa is also a record as Real has beaten Barca more than other team (72).
Defending champion Barcelona heads into the clash on top of the table in Spain and will look to increase its lead to five points with victory in the Spanish capital.
Real Madrid has hit a rough patch in recent weeks. Zinedine Zidane's side has lost three of its last five meetings in all competitions and needs a win to keep its title hopes alive.
A 1-2 loss to Manchester City in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash means Real Madrid has now gone three games without a win at home.
Defending champion Barcelona heads into the clash on top of the table in Spain and will look to increase its lead to five points with victory in the Spanish capital.
Real Madrid has hit a rough patch in recent weeks. Zinedine Zidane's side has lost three of its last five meetings in all competitions and needs a win to keep its title hopes alive.
A 1-2 loss to Manchester City in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash means Real Madrid has now gone three games without a win at home.
Position in table:
Barcelona- 1st in the table with 55 points from 25 matches. (17 wins, 4 draws, 4 losses)
Real Madrid- 2nd in the table with 53 points from 25 matches. (15 wins, 8 draws, 2 losses)
Look who is in town for El Clasico!
Even Kerala Blasters' Sandesh Jhingan is in town for the big-ticket clash. Looks like good football makes a great injury-time remedy.
Zidane: No issue with Kroos after Man City omission
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane stressed Toni Kroos' absence from his team in midweek was a tactical decision and he told reporters to stop looking for another meaning behind the omission.
Germany international Kroos was surprisingly left out of Los Blancos' starting line-up for the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie against Manchester City, which Madrid lost 2-1.
The 30-year-old had started five of Madrid's six group games and Zidane confirmed after the loss that there was no injury, though Kroos did not even make it onto the pitch.
Madrid faces Barcelona in Sunday's El Clasico, with Kroos training as normal on Saturday, and despite suggestions there could be a rift developing between player and coach, Zidane was quick to shut down such talk.
"Always when there is a bad result you look for something," he told reporters.
"We did not lose because he didn't play.
"There are things that can happen in a specific moment, in a match, and we have chosen this team.
"Those who came in played well and I chose a different alternative to Toni Kroos the other day. There's nothing else.
"You do not have to look for other things."
Luka Modric, Casemiro and Federico Valverde all started in midfield against City, with Kroos having started in Madrid's previous two La Liga games, neither of which it won.
Zidane's side hosts Barcelona on Sunday knowing a third successive defeat in all competitions would leave them five points behind the leaders in the title race.
Good news for Barcelona.
Jordi Alba has been named in the Barcelona squad to face Real Madrid, but head coach Quique Setien is unsure what part the full-back will play in Sunday's Clasico.
Alba injured his right adductor against Getafe on February 15, with Junior Firpo subsequently filling in at left-back against Eibar and Napoli.
However, Alba was on Saturday included in Setien's 18-man selection for the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Setien told a news conference: "The fact is he's very well at the moment, a positive sensation. Clearly you have seen I've put him in the squad.
"The question now is whether he will start the game or not. We're not sure. It depends how he's feeling tomorrow, if he's feeling the same as today.
"He's got another day, but he's looking confident. Let's see whether we play him to start with or not. I haven't decided yet."
Barca boss Setien kept his cards close to his chest, but revealed Alba was not the only player he would be making a late call on, adding: "No, I've got others."
However, Barca should also be boosted by the presence of Gerard Pique in the centre of defence, with the former Manchester United man fit despite suffering an ankle knock against Napoli in midweek.
"I think he's pretty much over the problem he had," Setien said. "There's no major damage. He's over the problem."
PREVIEW:
La Liga’s most important El Clasico for years might also be the most mediocre on Sunday as Barcelona and Real Madrid each fight to lift the gloom by deepening the other’s sense of crisis.
Two points separate the league’s leading pair, making this weekend’s meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu a potentially significant checkpoint in a back-and-forth title race, particularly if Barcelona wins and extend its advantage to five. It will be more significant than last season, when Barca kicked off the calendar’s second Clasico nine points clear of Madrid, or the season before, when it was already 15 in front.
But while a tussle at the top of the table is welcome in terms of intrigue, there is an unmistakeable sense of decline hanging over what has become the world’s most famous club fixture. “It’s a race of two lame ducks, both of them are bad right now, that’s the reality,” former Real Madrid forward Jorge Valdano told Onda Cero on Wednesday night.
“Barca’s recovery is more down to Real Madrid than Barca themselves.” For both teams, the build-up has been bumpy, with Madrid particularly wounded after a 2-1 defeat at home to Manchester City which has left it on the brink of exiting the Champions League in the last 16 for a second year in a row.
READ | Anything can happen in El Clasico, says former Real Madrid captain Hierro
Barcelona and Real Madrid’s combined 108 points taken at this stage is its second lowest since 2007, beaten only by last year’s even lower total of 105.
Barca has been more reliant than ever on Lionel Messi to paper over the cracks in its defence while Madrid’s defence has covered its lack of firepower up front, where it remains without an elite scorer, despite the impressive early-season form of Karim Benzema.
- END OF GOLDEN AGE? -
Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow still lingers, in part because Messi’s brilliance deserves a rival, in the league, but particularly the Clasico, where Ronaldo’s presence is undeniably missed. He is not the only one. Neymar was sold while Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta retired. Gareth Bale’s star has dimmed so much that his place in Zinedine Zidane’s squad is no longer secure, let alone his starting line-up.
There are some mitigating circumstances like injuries to Eden Hazard , who has the potential to light up any game, and Luis Suarez, who has seven goals in his last seven outings in this fixture. Yet the sense is of a golden era disappearing or gone, which is having implications for the national team too.
Eleven Spaniards started the last Clasico before Spain won the 2010 World Cup while in the goalless draw at Camp Nou in December there were six, including Gerard Pique, who has retired from international football.
There is a financial element that stretches back further. Where once Barcelona and Real Madrid could strong-arm the transfer market, both have been increasingly squeezed by Financial Fair Play and outmuscled by richer upstarts like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
Last summer, Eden Hazard was the first player Madrid had signed for more than 60 million euros since James Rodriguez in 2014. Barcelona’s chief executive Oscar Grau said the club needed to reduce its wage bill this season by 18 million euros.
Mediocrity is not likely to last long, particularly if Kylian Mbappe and Neymar can be lured next summer. With Messi now fit and firing, Barca might even exceed expectations in the Champions League and Madrid could yet pull off an escape against City.
But Sunday’s game is a duel of two teams no longer at full pelt, stumbling through transition and hoping past glories will soon return.
WHERE TO WATCH
You can follow the live streaming of the El Clasico on La Liga's official Facebook page.
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