Barcelona 0-0 Real Madrid: 3 reasons why El Clasico ended in a stalemate | LaLiga 2019-20

2. Lionel Messi was beneath his usual best

Messi was crowded everytime he touched the ball

Barcelona have an array of world-class attacking players within their ranks, but despite the marquee abilities of his teammates, Lionel Messi is crucial to everything the Blaugrana achieved on and off the field of play.

The Argentine international is arguably the greatest finisher of all time, while his playmaking ability and passing range also make him a useful asset, it is not an uncommon sight to see Messi dropping deep to influence proceedings. Against Real Madrid, he was deployed on the right hand of attack alongside Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann, but expectedly had a free role and roamed around in a bid to make things happen.

However, the congested midfield of the visitors limited his impact and Messi seemed unsure of himself, as he second-guessed his decisions on multiple occasion. He had just two shots in the game, with only one hitting the target, which is some way off his season average of four shots on target per game, while he also made just one key pass over the 90 minutes.

While Messi's genius is not in question, against Real Madrid, he was significantly beneath his devastating best and it was not a surprise that Barcelona struggled to create much in the game.