Real Madrid rides strong first half to victory in rain-soaked El Clasico
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SBI Soccer
3 Yrs Ago
Real Madrid and Barcelona played one of the more exciting El Clasicos in recent memory in a rain-soaked Estadio Alfredo DiStefano, riding a pair of first-half finishes to a victory that moved them into first place in La Liga.
Goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos held up despite an impressive second-half charge from Barcelona in an eventual 2-1 Real Madrid victory.
The win moves Real Madrid ahead of Atletico Madrid in the La Liga standings, with Atletico playing Real Betis on Sunday with a chance to retake first place.
Real Madrid controlled the match early on, burning Barcelona on the counter on multiple occasions. Karim Benzema opened the scoring 13th minute when he back-heeled a Lucas Vasquez pass beyond Marc Andre Ter-Stegen.
Real Madrid continued to control the early part of the match and found a second goal when a Toni Kroos free kick deflected off Sergino Dest and wound up in the net to make the score 2-0.
Barcelona continued to struggle to find chances in the first half, but nearly pulled a goal back when Lionel Messi came close to scoring directly from a corner kick, only to see his corner hit the back post after floating over Thibaut Courtois.
Ronald Koeman made a necessary tactical adjustment at halftime, switching from a 3-4-3 formation to a 4-3-3 after Real Madrid found considerable success attacking Barcaâs three-man defense. Antoine Griezmann replaced Sergino Dest and the system change helped Barcelona find its way into the match.
Barcelona defender Oscar Mingueza was the unlikely scorer of Barcelonaâs lone goal, connecting on an awkward volley off a Messi corner kick that reached him after a clever dummy run from Griezmann in the 60th minute.
The final 30 minutes of the match saw Barcelona attack consistently, only to fail to find an equalizer. Real Madrid appeared to get away with some penalty-worthy offenses, only for the referee to rule in favor of the home side. Among those incidences was one where Ferland Mendy appeared to foul Martin Braithwaite in the penalty area late in the match.
As the rain continued to drench the participants, Barcelona kept pushing for an equalizer and came very close in the dying seconds, only to watch young forward Ilaix Moriba send a shot off the crossbar.
The loss leaves Barcelona a point behind Real Madrid and Atletico. The Catalans will look to rebound next week when they play host to Getafe. Real Madrid returns to action on Wednesday in the Champions League quarterfinals at Liverpool holding a 3-1 advantage after last weekâs first-leg victory in Madrid.