It was nerve-wracking. It was tense. It was not pretty. But Real Madrid won their third straight Clasico on Saturday night at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, keeping Lionel Messi of the scoresheet again in what ended up being a 2-1 win that literally came down to the wire.
Los Blancos lost Lucas Vazquez to injury and Casemiro to a late red card after yellows in quick succession. They even had to sub off their best players with the Liverpool game in mind. In the end, though, they defeated Barcelona, showing the fortitude needed from a champion.
Here are four takeaways from the match.
Fortunate to get the win
I always want to be positive and optimistic when discussing Real Madrid, but I also have to be honest. Los Blancos can consider themselves lucky to have won this game. Luck has not been on Real’s side this season, so I am not worried about any issues in this match reflecting on their candidacy to win a 35th league title. But I do say, in fairness and out of respect to Barcelona, that Real could have easily drawn this game.
Barcelona had so many great chances and pushed deep into the box against Real. But credit to Real for defending with every ounce of strength they had. While Real missed their own chances, I do give them credit for creating so many opportunities.
It takes fortune to win the title in a tough race, and Real were given a few nice breaks in El Clasico.