Barcelona 5-1 Real Madrid
When these two Spanish giants clash in La Liga, the world tends to watch.
And while this was not 90 minutes in which the final scoreline reflected the balance of play, it has surely left one man staring at the sack – whichever part of the world you look at it from.
Highlights of the game
It was inevitable there would be thoughts of absent friends before kick-off.
Barcelona had to face their arch-rivals without the irreplaceable talents of Lionel Messi.
And with world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo now experiencing pastures new in Italy, this was the first El Clasico in all competitions without both Messi and Ronaldo since December 2007, when Real Madrid won 1-0 in a La Liga match thanks to a Júlio Baptista winner.
Much has changed since then but, in other ways, things have not.
Three years ago a Messi-less Barcelona welcomed Real Madrid to the Camp Nou with Rafa Benitez under similar levels of pressure as JulenLopetegui is now.
This was a first El Clasico game for the under pressure Lopeteguiand, possibly, his last if the majority of pre-match media reports were to be believed.
It didn’t make any easier reading as his side were two goals behind inside the opening half hour.
Just 11 minutes had passed when Philippe Coutinho fired home the opener, ending a move which involved 30 passes over a minute and a half (92 seconds) and featured every home player bar Luis Suarez.
Then, after half an hour, came the goal which could signal the end of Lopetegui’s reign.
Suarez went down in the penalty box after being challenged by Raphael Varane and appealed for a spot-kick.
The referee thought otherwise but VAR was used and, after consulting his monitor, Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez pointed to the spot and Suarez converted expertly past Thibaut Courtois, even though the Real custodian guessed the correct way.
Real needed a breakthrough and got it five minutes after the restart.
Marcelo has provided some of the rare moments of hope for Madrid in the past week, including a winner in their unconvincing Champions League victory against Czech minnows Viktoria Plzen in midweek.
Here was the Brazilian notching his third goal in a week as Lucas Vazquez and Isco teamed up and the full-back/marauding wing-back expertly controlled the ball before rifling one back.
With the visitors on top, a sign that the Real boss was out on his luck occurred six minutes later when Luka Modric fired a shot in off the post and saw the ball roll across the line and out.
Granted, Real survived a moment of their own good fortune when Suarez saw a volley come back off the post with Courtois beaten.
Karim Benzema headed over from close range when an equaliser may have changed the momentum but they were to rue the missed opportunity as the match was soon sealed.
A quarter of an hour was remaining when Sergi Roberto delivered another pinpoint cross and Suarez headed home the match-clinching third.
When the same players teamed up again eight moments later after poor defending, Suarez had an El Clasico hat-trick, one of the La Liga 2018 highlights and Real had been routed.
Substitute Arturo Vidal had only been on the field a matter of moments when he headed home a fifth from a ball from fellow sub Ousmane Dembele.
Although many of the Real players who slumped off the pitch at full-time need to take their share of the blame, it’s hard to see Lopetegui surviving this at a club which is traditionally trigger-happy with managers.
This is now Real Madrid’s worst start to a season in 17 years (2001-02) – a season in which they won the Champions League.
At this moment, a repeat seems as unlikely as their manager retaining his job. Just ask most Sboet fans or look at the La Liga 2018 betting odds.
Key Statistics
Madrid have lost three La Liga games in a row for the first time since May 2009 – when they lost five (a joint club record).
Barcelona have scored in each of their last 22 league games against Real Madrid in La Liga (53 goals total).
Barcelona are unbeaten in each of their last 42 league games at Camp Nou (won 33, drawn eight), their longest such run since February 1977 (67).
Since his debut in El Clasico, Barcelona hadn’t won either of the two matches against Real Madrid without Messi until today.
Five of the last six Real Madrid managers have lost their opening match against Barcelona in all competitions – only Zinedine Zidane (2-1 at Camp Nou in April 2016) managed to win.
This was the first El Clasico with two Brazilian goalscorers since Ronaldinho and Ronaldo in a 1-1 drawback in 2006.
What’s next?
After El Clasico, Barca have two very different fixtures.
They meet little heard of Segunda B side Cultural Leonesa as they begin their defence of the Copa del Rey before travelling to newly promoted Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.
A trip to their 2010 Champions League foes Inter Milan then awaits before they finally have another Nou Camp match. Real Betis are the visitors on November 11.
Real Madrid also have a rare cup encounter when they take on Union Deportivo Melilla in the autonomous city. It is the club’s historic first-ever meeting.
It’s then Vallecano at the Bernabeu in La Liga, a trip to the Czech Republic for a rematch with Viktoria Plzen and a potentially tricky away test at Celta Vigo.
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