FC Barcelona Defeats Real Madrid and Leads La Liga by 4 Points

League leader Barca played a very important game against second placed Galacticos in the Liga BBVA.

Luis Enrique’s men hosted the club’s arch rival Real Madrid which was one of the most important league games in the season. The Catalan side overcame Real Madrid in the championship due to the Royal Club’s weak form in recent times and a lot were at stake in El Clasico. It was either going to be Real Madrid getting back to the first place by winning, or Blaugrana increasing their advantage to 4 points.

The latter is what happened after showing great performance at Camp Nou which sees the Catalan side as clear favourites for winning the title. Mobile betting sites like Bet365 set the odds for Barca winning the league at 1.25 (1/4) while that of the Royal Club are 4.00 (3/1).

Blaugrana took the lead by the central defender’s header

There were not too many chances in the first few minutes, however 3 times Golden Ball winner Cristiano Ronaldo almost took the lead for Real Madrid in the 12th minute. However, the scoreboard remained unchanged as the world-class winger only managed to hit the post instead of the goal.

Luis Enrique’s men did not have a shot on target until the 19th minute. Pepe made a foul against Suarez and the Blaugrana were given a free kick. Lionel Messi crossed in the centre and Ramos lost his man, Jeremy Mathieu, who scored from a perfect header. Iker Casillas had no chance to save it.

Galacticos missed too many chances in the first half

Shortly after receiving the goal, Real Madrid spurred into action. The Whites did not give up the game just because they were down by one goal, quite the contrary. They were dominating the game and created many chances to score, however, they missed almost every single one of them.

Cristiano Ronaldo equalized in the 30th minute due to an amazing counterattack. Modric passed the ball to French striker Karim Benzema, who gave an unbelievable back-heel assist to his Portuguese teammate. After equalizing, Galacticos were pushing really hard and they even scored another goal which was disallowed because C. Ronaldo was offside before assisting Gareth Bale, who missed every other opportunity he had.

Barca took the lead again thanks to a Suarez goal

In the beginning of the second half, Karim Benzema had the chance to overturn the game in favour of Los Blancos but Claudio Bravo saved the Frenchman’s one-on-one strike. After that, Luis Enrique’s men gained total control over the game. They created many great chances and played much better than their rival, according to Spanish gambling news.

In the 56th minute their efforts paid off as newly acquired Luis Suarez scored a clever goal after a great ball from Daniel Alves. The Uruguayan striker’s first touch was perfect which put him into a better position between rival defenders Ramos and Pepe, allowing him to place the ball into the far corner.

Blaugrana clearly dominated the second half

The Royal Team was suffering in the second half while the Catalan side played a very attractive football. Neymar dribbled through many players in the 67th minute of the game but his finish was horrible: he shot the ball far away from goal. 6 minutes later Messi’s shot went just a few centimetres wide.

• Mathieu took the lead for Barca
• Cristiano managed to equalize
• Suarez scored the winning goal
• Blaugrana increased advantage to 4 points

Right after this occasion, the Argentine attacker passed to his Brazilian teammate but Neymar missed another clear cut chance. The young talent wanted to prove himself but his efforts seemed forced and he did not manage to score in the game. In the 86th minute Jordi Alba went one-on-one against Casillas but the legendary goalkeeper saved his team from another goal.

Luis Enrique believes they are not champions yet

After the clash, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique replied to the questions of the reporters. He praised the game for the attractive style of play but the former player also highlighted that the game did not decide who will win the league as there is ten more matches to be played. He also praised his striker Luis Suarez for his immense efforts during the game.

The scorer of the winning goal commented on El Clasico. He stated that this was his most important goal for Barcelona so far and he is happy to have scored it against Real Madrid. He also added that, “there is still a long way to go and we know it will be difficult. We know we can’t relax especially against a rival as strong as Madrid.”

Madrid players retain hope for the league title

Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo and Modric all declared that Real Madrid played at a very high level in the first half but the second goal broke them. Croatian midfielder Luka Modric said that Los Blancos “could have scored 2 or 3 goals in the first half.” They also agree they did not lose the championship yet and they have every chance to win it eventually.

Meanwhile, online gambling sites in Spain report what the manager of Galacticos, Carlo Ancelotti, has said about the clash. “Two really high-level teams came up against each other. For the first hour we were the better side and we played well until the second goal. The league isn’t over. Barcelona have a lead, as we did before. Anything can happen in football.”