Madrid City was in jubilant mood on Saturday night, as Real Madrid swept aside Barcelona 3-1 in an absorbing La Liga contest. As the front cover of Marca, Spain's biggest-selling newspaper, proclaimed the following morning, Real Madrid "ate them".
The atmosphere in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium was strangely muted in the first half of the game, owing to an unusual late-afternoon kick-off rather than the customary night-time clásico fixture. The slot was arranged to cater for the clubs’ global fanbases, more than half of whom are in Asia, and, of course, their shirt sponsors in the Middle East.
Barça’s early goal only added to the subdued air around the 81,000-seater stadium. Luis Suárez, who was making his much-hyped debut for Barcelona, provided an assist with his first involvement in the action. A little over three minutes into the game, he arrowed a cross-field ball into Neymar Jr’s path; the Brazilian controlled the ball before slaloming across the goalmouth and scoring in the corner. The stadium fell silent.
There was a familiar feel to Barça's line-up, which included their old midfield axis – Xavi, who had been out of favour early in the season, team captain Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets – but as the match progressed their control of the game loosened. They lack the conviction of old, the tireless pressing of two to three years ago no longer apparent.
Lionel Messi, who is on 250 league goals in Spanish football, was seeking to equal a La Liga goal-scoring record that goes back to the 1950s.
He was denied a goal by a fingertip save from Iker Casillas in the 23rd minute, one of several chances Barça squandered to create a two-goal advantage early on.
Classy Madrid
Old failings re-emerged. After coughing up a penalty before half-time to
Cristiano Ronaldo
, who has now bagged 16 goals in eight league appearances, Barça gifted a headed goal to Pepe – who was the bookies’ favourite to get bitten by Suárez – from a corner early in the second half. The Portuguese international was left idling on his own before blasting home his header.
The goal that killed the game came in the 61st minute. It was a rapid, quintessential Real Madrid counter-attack. Substitute Ivan Rakitic, in his first act of the game, scuffed a corner for Barça. The ball was swept up field. Real Madrid's Isco – who had his name serenaded by the home fans who love a luchador, a fighter – tracked back and somehow managed to emerge with the ball on the half-way line close to the touchline after Iniesta misjudged a pass.
Immediately Isco passed the ball onto Ronaldo, who swivelled and passed to James Rodríguez who played a neat offload into Karim Benzema’s path. The French centre forward, who has an uncanny ability for a big man to pick the ball out from under his legs while running, finished into the corner.
It’s the first time that Real Madrid have come from a goal behind to defeat Barcelona in 21 years. In the 76th minute, their fans broke into a round of condescending “olés” to accompany some keep-ball play by their galáctico stars; passing the ball around like that is, of course, usually a feature of their Catalan rivals.
Poor form
At the final whistle
Luis Enrique
, sporting a black suit and black-and-white trainers quickly disappeared down the tunnel. Before the kick-off, Real Madrid’s hooligan fans, the Ultras Sur, cavorted on a side street beside the stadium drinking alcohol and berating Enrique in song. Having put down five seasons in the 1990s with Real Madrid, the Barça manager is one of only a few high-profile players to cross the great divide in Spanish football and play for both teams.
Meanwhile, his Real Madrid counterpart, Carlo Ancelotti, basked in glory, ambling around the centre circle hugging his players and shaking hands with the dregs of Barça's players left on the pitch. Real Madrid's performance marks its first back-to-back wins over Barcelona since the 2007-2008 season.
Looking strong
The Italian’s team has cut Barça’s lead at the top of the league table to one point.
After a shaky start to the season, losing their second and third league games, last year's European champions – even without Gareth Bale, the world's most expensive player – look ominously strong.
