Barcelona triumph in 'treat' Clasico in Miami

Patrick Power 6 years ago 19.6k
Messi scored the opener against Real Madrid. AFP

Real Madrid and Barcelona offered viewers an engaging display full of exchanges which ultimately saw the Catalans claim victory.

The 'Clasico' got off to a highly entertaining start, with Barcelona attacking at breakneck speed. It took the Catalan side only three minutes to break the deadlock as Messi cut inside Modric in the box before going for goal. His shot took a wicked deflection off Varane to loop past Navas and give Barcelona the lead.

Zidane's team were taken aback by such a surging start, and were further overwhelmed as Barca got a second within seven minutes. Neymar worked well down the left flank and squared the ball to the edge of the box. Luis Suarez flicked the ball for Rakitic and the midfielder thundered a low shot into the corner of the net.

Valverde's team looked comfortable in the opening stages, but Real Madrid found a way back into the fixture. Kovacic found some space 20 yards out, and the Croatian unleashed a clean strike into the bottom corner giving Cillessen no chance.

Real Madrid seemed to get back into the game after the initial confusion with Benzema driving a shot wide, but Barcelona once again put them on the back foot. Neymar fired a low shot wide across goal, before Messi saw his finish saved by Navas. Barcelona appeared to hold the upper hand.

However, it was Real Madrid who found the equaliser. Asensio began the counterattack bursting into Barcelona's half. The Spaniard laid the ball out wide for Kovacic before receiving the return pass inside the box. Through on goal, Asensio made no mistake to beat Cillessen at his near post.

After the half-time show, the players came back properly rested as the beginning of the second half was delayed. And Barcelona took advantage of Real's relaxation to reclaim the lead. Zidane's side switched off at the set piece and Neymar's cross found Pique unmarked. The defender simply side-footed his volley into the back of the net.

Much like the first half, Barcelona enjoyed a string of chances, but Neymar twice failed to hit the target. Umtiti's shot was cleared off the line before Real raced up the other end with Isco forcing a phenomenal save from Cillessen.

Both sides made a host of changes with only the goalkeepers remaining from the 22 players who began the match. The changes disrupted the flow of the game with over ten minutes to go, but Madrid continued to push for an equaliser.

Isco tried to find the inside of the far post with a curling ball, but Cillessen once again denied the Spaniard, palming the ball away for a corner kick. Dani Ceballos then unleashed a powerful strike which was inches wide with Cillessen already beaten.

Mentioned in the news story

L. Messi
Ivan Rakitić
G. Piqué
Mateo Kovačić
M. Asensio
Barcelona
Real Madrid
Champions Cup