Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona: Karim Benzema, Valverde and Rodrygo secured all points: player ratings.
As expected, the first El Clasico of the season captivated us, and as the night finishes 3-1 in their favor, the defending Champions have claimed the bragging rights.
Real Madrid entered this match hoping to exacerbate Barcelona’s dreadful Champions League run and wrest back the league lead from the Catalan team.
The absence of Thibaut Courtois from the Madrid team’s starting lineup against Xavi Hernandez’s team was a major oversight by Carlo Ancelotti. In his first Clasico, Andriy Lunin entered the goalie’s position.
The only other player in the starting lineup who was not certain of starting, Antonio Rudiger, was David Alaba and Eder Militao at the back. Ancelotti decided not to take a chance on Rudiger.
The La Liga Champions, who turned it on in style at home, owned the opening half. The Ancelotti team led 2-0 at halftime. Apart from a few opportunities, Barcelona had nothing to offer in terms of offensive potential, and Lunin was generally left unchallenged.
On the right wing, Federico Valverde was chosen over Rodrygo, as Los Blancos nearly often do in major games, and the Uruguayan did not dissapoint, finishing the game with a goal to his name.
In the second half, Barcelona did display a little bit more grit and determination, but the visitors were unable to get past Real Madrid’s staunch defense. The hosts did score a consolation goal late, but Rodrygo’s penalty ended the contest.
(8) Andriy Lunin
Had a lot of anxious moments when in possession early on. After a low cross from Raphinha, Lewandowski unexpectedly missed an open goal, and the Ukrainian would have thanked his stars for that.
made a great stop to deny Frenkie a goal in the opening period. The Real Madrid backup goalkeeper, who probably wasn’t anticipating such an easy encounter, put up a respectable performance. Ferran’s goal, which was a brilliant move by Fati, could not be stopped.
7 Daniel Carvajal
Any full-back in the world would find it difficult to contain Ousmane Dembele, but Carvajal did a respectable job of it. Strong defensively, Fede Valverde moved inside whenever he could, and the Spaniard was a frequent out ball on the right.
Had a few anxious moments in the second half when Fati and Alba caused him problems, and in the 87th minute, Ancelotti decided to substitute the strong defensive Rudiger for him.
9 Eder Militao
Excellent in the air, beating Lewandowski in a few aerial battles. Militao was solid in possession, put up a strong defense, and stopped every Barcelona attack that was directed at him.
The Polish superstar was completely bossed, forcing him to use theatricals in an effort to gain a foul. unable to stop Lewandowski from backheeling a low cross into the box into Ferran’s path.
8 David Alaba
The Austrian was today’s center-back and was as authoritative and composed in possession as he always is.
shown exceptional awareness by reacting quickly to put Lewandowski offside on a few occasions in the first half. Both equally strong and largely unfazed in the second half.
Ferland Mendy: 8
The Frenchman put in a strong first-half performance, continuously overlapping Vini Jr. and offering a left-side alternative. He was credited with an assist for setting up Fede Valverde to score the second goal. Mendy did not perform very well in the second half, but he managed to contain Dembele.
8 for Aurelian Tchouameni
The Frenchman simply carried on casually, doing nothing extraordinary. Tchouameni, who is ensuring that Real Madrid won’t be without Casemiro this year, put on yet another strong performance in the base of the midfield.
fouling Dembele resulted in a free kick being awarded, but nothing was done with it. When the ball was lost, Fati was able to take a goal-bound shot that just missed the post. solid despite that.
7 Luka Modric
The veteran Croatian player put up a first-half performance that defied his years and was excellent in terms of decision-making.
Early in the second half, he had a few sloppy possession moments but immediately regained his poise. got a yellow card for a pointless foul on Pedri in the middle of the second half. 78th minute: taken off for Camavinga.
9 for Toni Kroos
In order to find Vini Jr. while under pressure from Busquets, the German displayed excellent strength and awareness. As per usual, he is strong when in possession, keeping the ball moving and sprinkling passes to those in front of him. The German delivered a classic performance.
Valverde: 9
began playing on his auxiliary right-wing position but constantly went into the infield. was at his most vivacious, diving into tackles and making explosive forward runs.
came up with the second goal for Real Madrid, a flawless strike. made a sprinting move before handing the ball to Rodrygo, who late in the game won the penalty.
Benzema, 8
The French superstar’s goal drought is gone, just one night before what would likely be his biggest day of his football career. had a second goal in the second half disallowed for offside. worked extensively on defense and undoubtedly remembered his greatest work. was abruptly removed in favor of Marco Asensio.
Jr. Vinicius: 8
Would have been puckering up at the thought of charging at Sergi Roberto, the right back for Barcelona, tonight. The first goal was scored by Benzema after the Brazilian caused havoc in the opening minute by blocking a shot and rebounding it.
Had a significant part in both goals, making a great run before passing the ball to Ferland Mendy, who set up Fede Valverde. in the 84th minute, substituted replaced Rodrygo.
