The decaf El Clásico was anything but as Real Madrid fought to the last, but couldn’t end FC Barcelona’s unbeaten streak. Here are three takeaways from the game.
The referee
More often than not in Clasicos, the referee is always the center of the debate and Sunday’s officiating perhaps provides a reason why the referee so often finds an unwanted spotlight.
Had either team won this game, the other side would have had plenty of material to claim that Hernandez Hernandez favored the winners. From merely a Madrid perspective, the referee missed a clear foul on Raphael Varane in the lead up to the second Barcelona goal and failed to call a penalty on a clear foul to Marcelo in the box.
Naturally, Barcelona also had a few calls go against them, namely, Gareth Bale not getting sent off in the first-half and numerous others I am sure your favorite Barca fan account will enlighten you about.
At the end of the day, the referee had a poor game, but, is not the reason Real Madrid failed to seal a victory at the Camp Nou.
Today was Barcelona in a nutshell. Lots of theatre, diving, Messi saving them, getting away with penalties, and then complaining after the match. pic.twitter.com/4OOaldK7xG
— Florentino Pérez (@RealFloPerez) May 6, 2018
Real cut Barca open on numerous occasions in the first-half and then failed to take advantage of the extra man in the second-half. For much of the game, the defense was all over the place and perhaps the number one reason they didn’t win this game is that they conceded two very soft goals that wouldn’t have happened if Madrid had a proper defensive structure.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Although he played really well, the main talking point concerning Ronaldo is his fitness. Real Madrid’s top scorer this season picked up an injury as he slid home the equalizer. Initial reports suggest that it’s just a sprain, however, Zidane said in the post-match presser that Ronaldo was worried about his ankle as it started to swell, before assuring the reporters it seems to be minor.
RE: Ronaldo's injury. Shouldn't be serious, Zidane said his ankle was swollen. He will play the Final for sure.
— Lucas Navarrete (@LucasNavarreteM) May 6, 2018
Outside of the injury, Ronaldo put in a very good performance, scoring the equalizer for his 11th in 11 appearances at the Camp Nou and leveling with Alfredo Di Stefano as Real Madrid’s top scorer in this fixture.
His presence was sorely missed in the second-half and his fitness will be the crucial talking point heading into the Champions League Final. Even should he be declared fit for the match, one would hope that he gets some game time in before that to avoid any lack of sharpness, like he showed at the start of the season.
This was a good performance
Real Madrid may have been poor at the back and failed to break Barcelona’s unbeaten streak, however, they did play well in this game. They had much more of the ball in threatening situations and could have won the game on their performances in the first 45 minutes and although Barcelona did have the better of the second half, Madrid still looked the more likely to score in the final few minutes.
We can take a lot of encouragement from the performance of the entire squad who looked sharp despite the late stage of the season and could have won this match had their best finisher stayed on the field.