In an eventful match at the Camp Nou, Real Madrid earned a much-needed 2-1 win to strengthen the team's confidence in the final third of the season. Coming back from 1-0 down and overcoming Sergio Ramos' sending off, Zinedine Zidane's team showed impressive resilience that allows them to reduce Barcelona's advantage in La Liga to seven points.
After 60 minutes of struggle during which Barcelona could have finished the match with a few great chances, Real Madrid took advantage of the locals' obvious tiredness. The repertoire of Gareth Bale, the energy of both full-backs Dani Carvajal and Marcelo Vieira, and the cool finishing touch of Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo led the visitors to victory.
Zidane's squad will now face the quarterfinals of the Champions League in high spirits, strengthen by a famous victory at probably the toughest stadium in football nowadays.
Barcelona
Real MadridPlayer Ratings (1-10; 10=best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating):
GK Keylor Navas, 8 -- Helpless on Gerard Pique's goal, the Costa Rican keeper added another three spectacular saves to his already impressive catalogue of the season. Navas was the key in keeping his team in the match when Real Madrid struggled the most.
DF Dani Carvajal, 8 -- Chosen over Danilo, Carvajal had to face Neymar for most of the match and did a solid job on the Brazilian. In the second half, he ventured forward more often and linked up well with Bale.
DF Pepe, 3 -- The Portuguese international started the match off the wrong foot. After a terrible first 25 minutes, in which he was wasteful with the ball, late to coverages and poorly positioned, he regained some composure, but kept misplacing passes here and there. Already guilty of losing Pique's mark in Barcelona's opener, his mistakes could have cost his team even more.
DF Sergio Ramos, 2 -- After an uneven 83 minutes, during which he hid his below average shape with a mixture of experience and fouls, his second bookable offence showed his lack of maturity and the doubts his leadership skills raise. As the team's captain, that reckless challenge is unforgiveable, especially with the match up for grabs and after two other fouls that could have meant his sending off earlier.
DF Marcelo, 7 -- Marcelo's chaotic approach to football saw him play a mediocre first half and an extraordinary second. In the first 45 minutes, the Brazilian exaggerated in the number of bizarre decisions and unexpected moves, leaving his flank unprotected in a few occasions. In the second half, he took advantage of Dani Alves fatigue and took over his flank completely. Marcelo started several offensive moves, one of which led to Benzema's equaliser.
MF Luka Modric, 7 -- The Real Madrid midfielder who came closer to resemble his usual form, the Croatian appeared often to organise the team around the ball and find Bale and Ronaldo in space. He also helped out at the back more often than usual.
MF Casemiro, 5 -- His hesitant beginning of the match made one think that the scene and the evening were too big for him. As the minutes went on, his teammates decided to hide his biggest weakness, his difficulty to make split-second decisions with the ball, by bypassing him almost completely in the build-up of plays. That allowed Casemiro to focus on his most obvious skill: tackling and stealing balls. In fact, he played like a central defender in a holding midfielder role, which is a reasonable resource, but not something Zidane should use to build his team on.
MF Toni Kroos, 6 -- When he got in touch with the ball, the ball moved around well. Those moments were extremely rare in the first 45 minutes, but multiplied as the second half progressed and Barcelona lost their edge. Given that Casemiro can't really perform as a playmaker, Real Madrid required more of the German, something he only delivered in the final 20 minutes.
FW Gareth Bale, 8 -- Throughout the match, he was the most active Real Madrid forward. No matter whether he was on the left, the right or the centre, he moved around purposefully, provoking an uneasy feeling among the Camp Nou faithful. Moments before having a goal wrongfully disallowed, he assisted Ronaldo for the winner. Was replaced by Lucas Vazquez in the 89th minute.
FW Karim Benzema, 6 -- A well-taken goal hid a poor performance by the Frenchman. Poor passing, scarce movement in the final third and an apparent lack of hunger were obviously compensated by his key strike, which got Real Madrid back into the match. Replaced by Jese after 78 minutes.
FW Cristiano Ronaldo, 8 -- Up until the 85th minute, his performance had been a mixed bag including two great shots and several failed attempts to dribble Barcelona defenders. However, after listening for most of the season -- somewhat justly -- that he had not scored in big matches, he chose one of the biggest events of the season to hit the winner in such a calm, composed manner that it seemed he had no pressure over his shoulders. This goal will mean a lot for the Portuguese striker in terms of confidence.
Substitutes:
FW Jese Rodriguez, NR -- In his 12 minutes he initiated two great attacking plays and added much needed energy to his team.
MF Lucas Vazquez, NR -- Had no time to do anything worth mentioning.
Eduardo is a football analyst for ESPN FC, BBC Sportsworld and Radio Marca. He's been a Real Madrid socio since 1995. Follow him on Twitter @alvarez.
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