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Score: Barcelona 1 - 3 Real Madrid
Scorers: Messi (P) 77': Pique (OG) 50', Ronaldo 80', Asensio 90'
Red card: Ronaldo 82 (for taking off his shirt; and for diving - when there was genuine contact; doesn't excuse his reaction, though)
After a quiet first half, the season's first Clasico exploded to life in the second half in a thrill-a-minute ride that had everything - a Messi goal, a Ronaldo goal, a Ronaldo sending off, an Asensio screamer and a gem of a performance from that most beautiful player - Isco. Here are the 5 things we learned from the match.
P.S. Why in the name of all that is holy were Real Madrid not in white: I know they need to sell their third kits, but this was ridiculous. It's BLAUGRANA v LOS BLANCOS for crying out loud!!!
5. Isco's Disco is a delight to watch
We say this nearly every time he sets foot on a football pitch but watching Isco play is worth a hundred trips to the Louvre. Gliding across the glass as if on skates, rouletting past players with a panache that would have made his manager proud (Busquets was left clutching at thin air on more than one occasion), playing with his head up and passing the ball about immaculately (that pass for Ronaldo's goal was supreme), he's the perfect attacking midfielder - and he showed once again why Madrid were right to tie him down to a new contract that supposedly raises his release clause to an eye-watering €600 million
Just look at this, and keep looking at this:
The future of Spanish football is safe in the hands of Isco Alcaron... retire in peace, Andres
P.S. Can we all just give a standing ovation to Marco Asensio? The young man has now scored in his debut in the UEFA Super Cup, La Liga, Copa del Rey, UCL, and Spanish Super Copa. And last night's goal was an absolute peach:
4.No Neymar, No Party
You can laugh all you want at Neymar not having to go play in the tiny village of Guingamp while his former team hosted Real Madrid, but the Brazilian showed on the Brittany coast just what Barca had let go off - with a sumptuous assist and a goal of his own on debut.
Meanwhile back at the "home of football" Barcelona struggled with Lionel Messi having one of his rare off days (don't mistake me, the Argentine was still the best Barca player on the pitch and his off days are most people's best - but you can' t afford to bring anything less than your best against this Real Madrid side, even if you are Leo Messi).
What Neymar used to provide is irreplaceable as poor Gerard Delofeu found out soon enough - and for all his faults, the lad is a player and a half and is probably the only player on the planet who can confidently ask Messi to take a backseat if things aren't going for him. He used to take pressure off the Argentine, and draw defenders to him like a magnet would iron shavings while providing a completely different type of threat to the opposition defence.
Barcelona have been talking to Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and even Ivan Perisic reportedly - and they need to sign one of those players at least right away - but even that may not be enough to correct the Neymar-shaped hole in their much-vaunted attack.
They wouldn't have had this issue if they'd not been such muppets in the past few transfer windows:
3. Cristiano Ronaldo keeps Lionel Messi in his shadow on the latter's home turf
Before we talk about him, watch this:
What a goal, eh. After all those comments and wisecracks about him having lost his dribbling ability, his pace, his oomph he underlined what he did over the course of April-May-June with an absolutely stunning goal yesterday. Suffice to say, the man is a beast.
And of course, he celebrated the way he did - nothing defines Cristiano Ronaldo quite like the rivalry he has with Leo Messi, does it?
While his booking for removing his shirt reiterated the utter idiocy of that rule - why is that an offence on par with a studs up challenge? - his second underlined the importance of VAR. While Samuel Umtiti might not have fouled him, it was certainly not a dive as the Frenchman's massive shoulders did brush him on his way past.
Why he did this, though, is beyond my comprehension... that bit was just silly, Cristiano and deserves a three match ban:
Meanwhile, this was Leo Messi's only meaningful contribution in the match: (to be fair to him, he should have got a penalty just before this incident after Sergio Ramos did what Sergio Ramos does to Leo Messi usually... but the Argentine didn't go down as theatrically as Suarez, so...)
That assist to get Suarez away though (P.S. Navas did hit Suarez with his hand, so it's as much dive as Ronaldo's was)
2. Why is no one talking about Barcelona's defence?
Yes, Neymar needs replacement. Yes, Iniesta needs replacement. Yes, Busquets could use a back-up. The woes and shortcomings of Barcelona's midfield have been analysed to death this summer, but there's one important element the analysis always misses out on - their defence.
While the addition of Nelson Semedo was a much-needed one, there is simply no excuse for Barca to have utterly let go of their backline in such a manner - for a while now their defence has been held together by the colossal presence that is Gerard Pique, but if that man has an off day, the Catalans are there for the taking - as the second half of today's match illustrated perfectly. And boy, did he have an off day:
While the OG was not his fault, come on - it's cruel to blame it on him - he simply had no answer to either Ronaldo or Asensio when they came at him full tilt and was turned a little too easily for both their goals.
For a while now, Barca's defence has been creaking - Javier Mascherano was just a temporary quick-fix solution that became permanent because of what was in front of him, and Samuel Umtiti is not a solution for anything - and it's quite amazing that the Barcelona board have done little to address this issue. When Barcelona come calling, very few footballers can refuse - and you'd have assumed that they'd have such a long-standing issue sorted by now.
There's still to correct it if the board acts quickly enough, but the one thing Josep Bartomeu has shown during his Presidency is that unless it involves a corporate sponsorship deal, the board does nothing quickly.
1. Who can even think of stopping this Real Madrid juggernaut?
We said this after the way they toyed with Manchester United in the UEFA Super Cup, and we say this again - Real Madrid are a scary, scary, footballing outfit. When you have the strength in depth to leave Isco, Matteo Kovacic, and Marco Asensio on the bench without losing even an iota of penetration or attacking quality - there's very little that can stop you.
There are reports circulating that Zinedine Zidane has agreed a three-year extension/renewal and that is the least he deserves for turning Rafa Benitez's toothless kittens into the all conquering juggernaut they are today.
They have done this by pipping everyone to the best talent in Spain - Asensio, Theo Hernandez, and Dani Ceballos are a few of the most high-profile examples - and by trusting in their own squad. Think what you want of Florentino Perez, but the man has acted quickly and decisively when need be and has shown the strength of character to let Zidane rule the roost when it comes to the team selection.
With their main challengers looking so utterly shambolic on and off the pitch, La Liga needs it's much maligned 'others' to step up their game and take it to Madrid if we are to hope for a competitive season this time around.
