Full Time: Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid
Champions Barcelona maintained their season-long unbeaten La Liga run with a 2-2 El Clasico draw against traditional rivals Real Madrid at Camp Nou.
In Andres Iniesta’s last Clasico, Barcelona were on the front foot from the onset and found their opener in the 10th minute when Luis Suarez smashed a first-time volley past goalkeeper Keylor Navas from a fantastic cross by Sergi Roberto.
However, Real Madrid responded quickly through Cristiano Ronaldo, who tapped home a headed Karim Benzema pass from close range.
Tempers flared when Lionel Messi was shown a yellow card for a hard challenge on Sergio Ramos before Roberto was sent off for appearing to slap Marcelo in the face.
Down to 10 men, Barcelona took the lead against the run of play when Suarez picked out Messi, who took two touches on his left before curling the ball past Navas. The Argentine nearly scored his second but was denied by Navas.
The miss came back to haunt the Catalans as Gareth Bale scored a sensational goal two minutes later to make it 2-2.
The result keeps Barcelona’s record 35-match unbeaten season in La Liga alive with three games remaining in the season.
Real Madrid player ratings
Keylor Navas – 8/10
Navas was spectacular in goal, making crucial saves that kept Madrid in the game.
Nacho Fernandez – 6/10
Nacho was decent at right-back against the threat of Jordi Alba. He was booked in the first-half for tripping Suarez.
Raphael Varane – 6/10
Varane looked a bit shaky despite passing a late fitness test. He never looked 100% but kept on going. The Frenchman was fouled by Suarez for Barcelona’s second goal.
Sergio Ramos – 7/10
Ramos marshalled his troops well, remained solid in defence and inspired confidence. When Real needed their captain, he delivered on the night.
Marcelo – 6/10
Marcelo was caught out of position when Sergi Roberto supplied the host’s opening goal. Moved forward with an intent to help Madrid in attacks. The Brazilian was unlucky to not get a penalty after Alba appeared to trip him inside the box.
Casemiro – 6/10
Casemiro protected the back-four well but was not as influential as he usually is. A decent display but more was expected out of him.
Toni Kroos – 7/10
A solid performance from the German, who dictated the tempo of the game after the break with his passing abilities. Played a key role in the build-up to the equaliser.
Luka Modric – 6/10
The Croatian worked diligently in the midfield but wasn’t at his sublime best. He failed to influence the proceedings after the break when Madrid needed his creativity the most.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 7/10
Ronaldo equalised for Real by bundling home from close range. Missed a few chances and was taken off at half-time as the Portuguese felt something in his right knee.
Gareth Bale – 6/10
Anonymous on the night but scored a fantastic goal, curling past the hapless Ter Stegen to make it 2-2. However, he was lucky to be on the pitch after an awful challenge on Umtiti.
Karim Benzema – 7/10
Excellent! He seems to have regained his confidence at the fag end of the season. The brace against Bayern seems to have worked wonders as Benzema linked up well with Ronaldo before setting up the goal for the Portuguese.
Substitutes
Marco Asensio – 6/10
Took time to get in the groove and once he did, it was difficult to stop him. His perfect pass to Bale led to Real’s equaliser.
Lucas Vazquez – 5/10
Vazquez added a bit of impetus to Real’s attack. He put in a couple of decent crosses but could not help Madrid break Barcelona’s unbeaten run this season.