Real Madrid earns a statement win in El Classico with a 1-3 away victory against their rivals Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Real Madrid traveled to Catalunya and came away with a much-needed win against Barcelona. Federico Valverde gave Los Blancos the lead early in the first half, but Ansu Fati equalized minutes later.
Sergio Ramos scored from the penalty, and Luka Modric scored a magical outside of the boot goal in the second half to give Real Madrid a deserved victory in the first El Classico of the season.
Zinedine Zidane started his strongest possible elven from the players he had available. Vinicius got back to the first team, while Ferland Mendy reclaimed his left-back position. Nacho slotted in at the right-back position, and Modric started on the bench.
Manager
Zinedine Zidane – 8/10
I have been critical of Zidane in the last two losses against Cadiz and Shakhtar Donetsk, but the Frenchman should get the majority of the credit for this win against Barcelona. He set up his team with the strongest possible line-up with the players available, and more importantly, he prepared his team to face their arch-rivals mentally and tactically.
Real Madrid created more chances and had a better xG of 3.21 to Blaugrana’s 1.57, per Understat.com. Zidane continues his unbeaten record in Camp Nou to become the first manager to remain unbeaten in six away El Classicos.
Goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois – 7/10
There has been no other player as reliable as Thibaut Courtois on goal. He couldn’t have done much more with Barcelona’s goal, but he was splendid to deny Lionel Messi in a one on one situation when the score was 1-1.
The Belgian did not have much else to do in terms of saves. He looked good and calm with the ball on his feet.