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Barcelona took a great step towards claiming the league title in Spain after they defeated their fierce rivals Real Madrid 2-1 at Camp Nou. After Jeremy Mathieu scored the opener while Cristiano Ronaldo equalised for the Madrid side in the first half. Gareth Bale's goal in the end of the half was ruled out for offside in controversial circumstances.
After Madrid dominated the first half, Barcelona showed their abilities in the second, by creating numerous chances. Luis Suarez did manage to score from one of them to inflict misery on the Los Blancos and give Barcelona a title boost.
Let us look at the player ratings:
Barcelona
Claudio Bravo - 7.5/10
Bravo made good saves from Ronaldo and Benzema shots and helped Barca win this all-important match. Apart from those saves, he was pretty much silent between the sticks.
Dani Alves - 7/10
He offered great outlet for his attackers with the ball and was good with defensive side of the game too. It was from his brilliant long ball, Suarez scored the winner.
Gerrard Pique - 7.5/10
He was a rock in defense against Real Madrid. His knack to identify danger and intercept them before it turns into anything dangerous was impressive.
Jeremy Mathieu - 7/10
He was not at the same level as his centre half partner, nonetheless he had a good game. He scored the opening goal of the game.
Jordi Alba - 6.5/10
He looked solid at the back. Alba could have sealed the game in the end, but Casillas made a great save.
Javier Mascherano - 6/10
He looked solid as usual in defence. However, he lost Ronaldo for the goal and got booked for acting.
Andres Iniesta - 6/10
He had a good first half with his passing range, but faded away in the second half and his passing was wayward.
Ivan Rakitic - 5/10
He had his moments in the match, but couldn’t able to produce it consistently. He was dispossesed off the ball quite easily on few occasions.
Lionel Messi - 7.5/10
It was from his brilliant set-piece delivery, Barca took the lead through Mathieu. Being tightly marked by Madrid defense, he hardly got any chances. However, he did well at the limited opportunities he had and in the second half set up his teammates with many opportunities.
Luis Suarez - 8/10 (Man of the match)
Suarez was a constant threat for Real defenders as he linked up impressively with his attackers. He scored a brilliant goal to put Barca in front in the second half. If only his finishing was better, he could have scored more goals.
Neymar - 6.5/10
He linked up well with the attacking duo to keep Madrid defenders at bay. He showed glimpses of his quality without a proper end product. After missing a sitter in the first half, he missed a great chance in the second half which would have sealed the game.
Substitutes
Sergio Busquets (76') - 6/10
He was brought to steady their ship at the back and he did that to see out their single goal lead.
Xavi Hernandez (80') - 5/10
He did enough to see out the game in what might well be his last Clasico fixture if all the rumors about him moving away in the summer is true.
Rafinha (85') - N/A
Hardly had anytime to make an impact.
Real Madrid
Iker Casillas - 7/10
Apart from the two goals he conceded, Casillas overall play was good. He made great saves in the end to deny Barcelona score another.
Dani Carvajal - 6/10
He was lucky for not receiving a second yellow for fouling Neymar in the second half. Otherwise he looked decent in defence and supported his attackers well on his side.
Pepe - 6/10
After getting an early yellow card, he defended resolutely without putting himself on the line for a second card. He looked solid at back.
Sergio Ramos - 6/10
He formed great partnership with his partner and defended well in the game. But, in the second half he dropped his level and was caught out of position few times.
Marcelo Vieira - 6.5/10
As usual he provided great attacking threat in the final third. He went forward at every possible moment to support his attackers and was also ready to track back his opponent.
Toni Kroos - 6.5/10
Kroos was assured in his passing and hardly put a foot wrong. He also did his defensive duties well. However, he couldn't make any notable contribution in the match.
Luka Modric - 7/10
His passing was really good and he played a great role in Real's equaliser in the first half.
Isco - 6.5/10
He produced an energetic performance, linked well with his attackers and was always ready to track back the opponent.
Gareth Bale - 6/10
He was unfortunate to be denied his goal in the first half for offside. However, he had another chance to make up for it but missed a sitter. In the second half he faded away.
Karim Benzema - 7.5/10
He offered great support to his attackers with his willingness to always find the space and feed his teammates. He also grabbed a beautiful assist for Ronaldo's goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo - 7.5/10
After seeing his early effort come off the post, Ronaldo made up for it by scoring the equaliser in the first half. Apart from setting up Benzema, Ronaldo was more or less anonymous in the second half.
Substitutes
Raphael Varane (73') - 6/10
With Real being slaughtered in the second half, Varane was sent on to steady the defence and he was upto the task by blocking everything that was thrown at him.
Jese Rodriguez (80') - 5/10
He was introduced to inject more pace to the team, but he failed to do, as he was virtually anonymous after coming on.
Lucas Silva (88') - N/A
Hardly had anytime to make an impact.
