Real Madrid 2 – 3 FC Barcelona: 3 Takeaways from Real Madrid’s Devastating Loss in El Clásico

Real Madrid got Messi’d, as Ronaldo Goes Missing

One of the reasons why discussions of form go out the window whenever El Clásico rolls around is that both teams have superstars that can single-handedly decide matches in the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

In the eternal battle of La Pulga vs. The Dark Invader, Messi won today, and it wasn’t even close.

Ronaldo has been immense for Real Madrid as of late, but he simply could not find his shooting boots in this El Clásico showdown. He started strong, ripping Barca’s back line to shreds and testing the Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen with a number of stinging shots from distance.

But as the match wore on Ronaldo grew a more frustrated figure. Especially painful was when he skied a chance to slot the ball into an open net following an excellent run from Marco Asensio.

Messi, on the other hand, was rampant. He embarrassed Casemiro a number of times in the first half, and Casemiro was once again lucky to not have been sent off the pitch trying to deal with the Argentinian.

He orchestrated Barca’s attack, for much of the match with blood in his mouth from a (completely accidental) Marcelo elbow. His super-clutch last-minute El Clásico winner will go down in the annals of Barca history if the Catalans end up snatching league victory from the jaws of defeat.