Five peculiar things that happened in Sunday’s El Clásico
By Sachin Bhat
A red card
The biggest fixture in Europe (probably after the Champions League final) is also the most fiercely contested and most volatile. Heated exchanges, rash challenges, enormous fouls, audacious theatric – it encompasses the very abominable that football has to offer.
So often, many of these incidents result in cards, more so the red one. One such incident transpired in this match too – Sergi Roberto appeared to smack Marcelo in the face that earned him a straight red, right at the end of the first half.
The Brazilian only tried to apply pressure by chasing the ball down the flank, but the Barcelona fullback mindlessly came to blows with him.
Referee Hernandez Hernandez didn’t hesitate to pull out a red in the aftermath, leaving Barcelona a man down for the remainder of the game.
The only thing not peculiar here is a Barcelona player being shown a red, for this is only the second time in 50 Clásicos that such a thing has happened.
Fights, fights, and more fights
As aforementioned, Clásicos are tempestuous affairs; littered with a litany of angry and fiery moments. The latest one was no different.
Even with nothing to play for other than pride, the sides approached the game with all high intensity and it did boil over a few times. Jordi Alba and Luka Modric got physical early on in the game, with the Barca man grabbing the Croat’s neck.
Paulinho and Lucas Vazquez had their share of arguments, but the vilest one involved old foes, Sergio Ramos and Luis Suarez.
The two once again were at each other’s throats and also engaged in a clash of heads. Ramos and Suarez have made this a thing in the recent clashes. And even if this wasn’t an all-out fisticuff, the tiff between the two raged on.