'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
El Clasico - an age-old rivalry of two of world football's highbrow powerhouses, Real Madrid and Barcelona, with a primary objective of keeping an upper hand over the other when La Liga and European football is concerned.
This fixture's charisma has been illuminated by some of the biggest and upmarket names in the Football history and it continued into the modern generation with Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta and so on and so forth.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid have been known for the tensed atmosphere, edgy plays, fights, immense competitiveness and of course for the beauties produced by the star players. This year's Clasico at Camp Nou, to some extent, failed to produce and replicate its originality.
Barcelona came out as a fully deserved and worthy winners as they slew Julen Lopetgui's struggling Real Madrid by five goals to one. The Catalans produced some magnificent showings but the Los Blancos fell far behind.
Yesterday's El Classico, perhaps, wasn't classical like the past El Classicos
Here, we derive three reasons why there wasn't a glimpse of originality and its grades.
#3 Barcelona was a dominant force from the start against
toothless Real Madrid
Barcelona was pumped from the moment when the ball was kicked and their continued dominance in the first stages of the game resulted in Philippe Coutinho's 11th-minute goal in his first El Classico. The atmosphere at glorious Camp Nou further became exquisite when Suarez doubled their lead from the 12 yards.
Real Madrid looked lifeless in the first 45 minutes and didn't at all produced their customary urge against Barcelona and produced a passive approach throughout the game.
The Los Blancos looked threatened and shaken from Barcelona's utter dominance and it ultimately affected their decisiveness in the final third as Benzema hurriedly skied a good cross from Gareth Bale over the bar.
Of course, Luis Suarez's stunning hattrick performance further applied a dagger to Los Blancos' heart and it became a one-sided game to some extent.
#2 Real Madrid's lack of urge and confidence from the start
Real Madrid have gone through some really big events off the pitch in the transfer window and their managerial transition has not gone in the right direction. Julen Lopegui's side is in a dreadful form having procured just 4 wins from 10 in La Liga. Moreover, it is the first time in 9 years that they have lost 3 consecutive fixtures in Spain.
Real Madrid's poor run and various consequences of various transitions in the transfer window were clearly seen in Camp Nou. They lacked the attribute of pressing and urge they usually used to have in previous El Clasicos.
However, Lopegui's tactical switches after 45 minutes resulted in Marcelo's goal on the 50-minute mark but it wasn't much effective and they fell way behind sizzling Catalans due to lack of energy, conventional urge, and confidence.
#1 No Ronaldo - no glimpse of typical, aggressive and classical Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo's absence due to his historic summer move to Juventus had an immensely negative impact of Los Blanco's aggression and overall performance. The absence of his services was pretty much tangible.
On the other hand, surprisingly, Barcelona cruised in the absence of Lionel Messi as they produced a 5-star performance.
An attribute of aggression, decisiveness has been transmitted to Cristiano Ronaldo by those great players in Galactico. Ronaldo has been a source of quality, aggression, and decisiveness for Real Madrid in the recent past and due to his unavailability against Barcelona after almost a decade, Whites' belligerence was gone.
Yesterday's El Clasico delivered a pure entertainment but somehow failed to produce it uniqueness to some extent which we have been witnessing from years. The embarrassing 1-5 loss means heavy speculation mounts around Spanish manager Julen Lopegui and it ultimately could lose him his place as a Real Madrid manager.
