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

The last El Clasico of the decade was held at the Camp Nou, with Barcelona and Real Madrid playing out to a goalless draw. Both sides came into the fixture joint-top of the log and given the history and quality of players on display, fireworks were expected but it turned out to be the opposite, as the players put in a dour performance to ensure we witnessed the first goalless Clasico since 2002.

Fixtures between Real Madrid and Barcelona are always highly anticipated and the fact that this game was rescheduled due to political violence only heightened expectations. However, the hundreds of millions watching around the world would have been left disappointed by what they saw.

Given their ambitions of lifting the league and the animosity existing between the two sides, a draw is never acceptable to either set of fans and only a victory would have been entirely satisfactory but they had to share the spoils and here, we shall be highlighting three reasons why the match ended in a stalemate.

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3. The tactical applications of the managers

Zidane was pragmatic in his approach

Real Madrid have been on the receiving end of some scandalous trashings by Barcelona in recent years and the last time Los Blancos visited the Camp Nou in the league, they were thumped 5-1 and that scoreline led to the sacking of Julen Lopetegui. It was, perhaps, with this in mind that Zinedine Zidane named his starting lineup and gave his team instructions to defend deeply and press as much as possible.

Isco started in a midfield four, with Fede Valverde, Casemiro, and Toni Kroos crowding out the middle to limit Lionel Messi's impact, while Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema acted as the first line of defence up front.

Speaking after the match, Sergio Ramos stated that the team had 'learned from its past mistakes', while Zidane was full of praise for Gareth Bale's display, which was pertinent, as the normally forward-minded Welshman put in a good defensive shift, evidenced by the three interceptions and one successful tackle he made.

It was, however, not only Real Madrid that were pragmatic in their approach and the same can be said of Ernesto Valverde. The team news released by Barcelona's official twitter page showed Sergio Busquets in the starting lineup, but rather shockingly, the Spanish international was left on the bench, with Ivan Rakitic taking his place and this was indicative of Valverde's intention to be more combative in the middle.

Dani Carvajal and Jordi Alba are two of the most attack-minded full-backs in the world but the Spanish internationals rarely ventured past the midway line, thus severely limiting their teams' attacking impetus. The two coaches seemed more interested in not conceding or losing rather than winning the match and on the balance of play, their wishes were granted.

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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.

1. The two teams failed to take their chances

Gareth Bale missed a good chance in the second half

It has already been established that neither team went all out to win the game and this is evidenced by the fact that just five shots on target were recorded in the match between the two clubs However, there were still a handful of notable chances created but both sets of players were guilty of missing gilt-edged chances.

Real Madrid's best chance of the night fell to Gareth Bale, when he was played through on goal but rather jarringly, he blasted over the bar despite the ball dropping on his stronger foot, while Jordi Alba also missed an equally good opportunity when Messi played him in with a sublime through-ball that he shot wide of the target on the volley.

Goals win matches and in a game where chances were at a premium, neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid managed to convert theirs, which was rather poor considering the attacking talent that was on display.