3 things that went wrong for Real Madrid against Barcelona

#2 The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo in the second half

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off as a precaution

When Sergi Roberto was sent off in the additional time of the first half, Real Madrid had a clear advantage going into the half-time. When they came out of the tunnel for the second half, Marco Asensio was waiting in the wings to come off for the 12-time European Champion's talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano scored the first goal for Real Madrid in the El Clasico and in the process, he injured himself and received treatment immediately. With the Champions League finals less than three weeks away, manager Zinedine Zidane decided to take the Portuguese, who was complaining of an ankle sprain, off as a precaution and substituted with the Spaniard.

Though Asensio provided the assist for Gareth Bale's goal, the presence of Cristiano against a ten-man team would have given Los Blancos more advantage. In the first half, Barcelona struggled to deal with Ronaldo's presence in the box. The likes of Asensio and Benzema struggled to replicate that in the second half.