Barcelona locked horns with Real Madrid at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano earlier tonight, hoping to pick up all three points away from home. Karim Benzema broke the deadlock for Real in the first half as he cleverly executed a backheel flick to beat Ter Stegen from close range. Toni Kroos’ deflected free-kick doubled the hosts lead around the half-hour mark. Messi came close to pulling one back for the visitors, but his shot came off the post as Barcelona went 2-0 down at half-time. However, Oscar Mingueza found the back of the net around the 60-minute-mark to make it 2-1 for the visitors, but they failed to force another as Real Madrid emerged victorious at the end of the day.
Let’s take a look at how each Barcelona player fared during the clash against Los Blancos.
Barcelona Player Ratings Against Real Madrid
Marc Andre Ter Stegen – 6/10
The German shot-stopper remained rooted to the spot during Toni Kroos’ free-kick, but a payer of calibre should have comfortably saved the shot, which led to the first goal of the game.
Sergino Dest – 6/10
Toni Kroos’ free-kick took a deflection off him before ending up in the back of the net. Was taken at half-time in order to accommodate Antoine Grizemann.
Oscar Mingueza – 6.5/10
The Spaniard struggled to defend against Vinicius Jr. throughout the game. However, a change of formation in the second half allowed him to take up a more advanced role down the left-wing and score a goal in the 60th minute.
Ronald Araujo – 6/10
The Uruguayan centre-back might have done better to prevent Karim Benzema from getting ahead of him and flicking the ball.
Clement Lenglet – 6.5/10
The French defender didn’t do much wrong defensively as he seemed to be in control of the proceedings down the right-hand side. Besides, he made some crucial interceptions and clearances to help his side at the back.
Jordi Alba – 6.5/10
The 32-year-old’s callousness down the left-flank led to the concession of the first goal of the game. Nonetheless, he got himself an assist in the second half.
Sergio Busquets – 6/10
Busquets found it extremely hard to keep up with Real Madrid’s pace during the counter-attacks. He was subsequently replaced by Sergio Roberto around the 64-minute-mark.
Frenkie de Jong – 6.5/10
The Dutch international’s overall ball distribution was quite decent, but he failed to create big chances for the frontmen.
Pedri – 6/10
The 18-year-old didn’t look convincing at all tonight. He struggled to get into proper spaces and could hardly facilitate Barca’s attacking gameplay.
Ousmane Dembele – 5/10
Barcelona could’ve scored two goals in the first-forty minutes itself if Dembele was a bit more clinical with his chances. He miscued his shots and couldn’t time his runs properly either.
Lionel Messi – 7/10
The Argentine international created a big chance for Dembele in the first half and even hit the crossbar directly from a corner.
SUBSTITUTES:
Antoine Griezmann – 6/10
Provided the visitors with some extra energy going forward.
Sergio Roberto – 6/10
Added some much-needed solidity to Barca’s midfield.
Ilaix Moriba – 6/10
He came close to scoring the equalizer as he hit the crossbar in the 94th minute.
