Afirst half goal from Ivan Rakitic and a sensational defensive performance powered Barcelona to a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid on Saturday night at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.
Three days after dusting off their eternal rivals in the Copa del Rey semifinals, the visitors from Catalonia registered a second straight clean sheet win on Real’s home turf and now own a 12-point lead over Los Blancos in the table.
Rakitic took his goal very well, but the star of the day was the entire Barcelona defence, led by the irreplaceable Gerard Pique, who always seemed to be at the right place and at the right time to deny the Real attack.
Real manager Santiago Solari made two changes from the team that lost midweek in the Copa, with usual starter Thibaut Courtois back in goal and Gareth Bale in place of Lucas Vazquez.
Meanwhile, Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde’s starting XI was unchanged except for Sergi Roberto at right-back in place of Semedo, paving the way for Arthur in midfield.
On this day Real lacked the zip they had in Wednesday’s meeting and it was Barcelona who had the first chance of the evening when Luis Suarez fed Lionel Messi but the chip from the Pulga floated wide.
Vinicius finally got his first good touch of the match midway through the half and fed Luka Modric, but the fireball from the Croatia international was blocked by Pique.
The only goal of the match would come from the simplest of plays, as Messi swung a pass to Rakitic on the right flank, who then slipped a ball to Sergi Roberto. It was at that moment that Sergio Ramos went to seep for a half-second, but it was long enough for Rakitic to get in behind the centre-back and after receiving the pass back from Sergi Roberto, Rakitic finished exquisitely past Courtois for a 0-1 lead.
Barcelona were brimming with confidence and Suarez was on the doorstep to make it 0-2 with a sizzling left-footer, but Courtois got low and made a fantastic diving stop. The half would end with Barcelona on the front foot and Ramos could call himself lucky to still be on the pitch after a forearm to Messi’s face right before the break, resulting in a heated confrontation between the two.
Early in the second stanza Messi suffered a groin strain and was noticeably a step slower than his usual otherworldly quickness, but the Argentine stayed on. Solari then made his first two switches with Fede Valverde on for Toni Kroos and Marco Asensio for the anonymous Bale, who departed to a shower of whistles.
Barcelona were keeping Vinicius largely under wraps, but an error from Rakitic in front of his own net led to a golden opportunity for the young Brazilian, but the shot was fired into the ribs of Clement Lenglet.
Valverde’s first substitution arrived in the form of Arturo Vidal, who replaced Arthur, and Barcelona did not miss a beat defensively. The visitors were excellent in blocking shots and cutting off passes, leaving Real’s best scoring options to come from outside the area.
With Real’s attack stymied, Solari made his last roll of the dice, bringing on the forgotten Isco in hopes of some late magic. But the Barcelona defence was an impenetrable force, as they would lock down the three points in workmanlike fashion, leaving Real liking their wounds with their second Clasico defeat in a week.
Match Sheet:
0.- Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Reguilon: Casemiro (Isco, min. 76), Kroos (Fede Valverde, min. 55), Modric; Bale (Marco Asensio, min. 61), Benzema, Vinicius.
1.- Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Lenglet, Pique, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets (Semedo, min. 92), Arthur (Vidal, min. 71), Messi, Suarez, Dembele (Coutinho, min. 78).
Goals: 0-1, min. 26: Rakitic.
Referee: Undiano Mallenco (Navarro).
Yellow cards: Busquets (Min. 2) for Barcelona, Ramos (Min. 62) for Real Madrid, Lenglet (Min. 63) for Barcelona, Asensio (Min. 82) for Real Madrid, Carvajal (Min. 89) for Real Madrid.
Red cards: None.
Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu.
Attendance: 78.921.
