Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona - 3 reasons why Los Blancos lost the match

#2 Lack of bite in their attack

Gareth Bale was disappointing on the night

For large portions of the fixture at the Bernabeu, the home side were on the front foot, pushing their visitors backwards and forcing them into clearing their lines rather hurriedly.

This came about as Real Madrid's midfield did their work, effectively overriding Barcelona in the middle of the park, thereby stopping their supply chain with the result being that Lionel Messi was forced top drop deep and try to influence proceedings.

That Real Madrid failed to score was not for want of trying (they had 10 shots in total, with only 3 of those being on target), as they continuously created chances, only to be thwarted by their poor decision making in the final third and some resolute defending from Barcelona.

Of Real's three starting attackers on the night, only Vinicius Jr can genuinely claim to have made a mark on the game, as the Brazilian was a constant menace in the flesh of the Barca defence, with his exhilarating runs forward and change of pace proving too much to handle, although the teenager was let down by some wayward finishing on more than one occasion.

The same cannot be said about his strike partners, as both Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema were relative spectators for most of the match, with the whistles blown around the Bernabeu upon the Welshman's substitution serving as a signal that the Real Madrid crowd were disappointed with his performance on the night.

Goals win matches and it is usually the duty of the forwards in a team to put the ball in the back of the net. However against Barcelona, Real Madrid's forwards were horribly off-form and this unfortunately cost them goals and a home defeat to their worst rivals.