The Sunday Mail
Barcelona opened up a commanding 14-point lead over bitter rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga as goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal yesterday handed the visitors a 3-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Victory extends Barca’s unbeaten run to 25 games in all competitions as they moved nine points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid and exacted revenge for a 5-1 thrashing on aggregate in the Spanish Super Cup at the hands of Real in August.
Was it the early kick-off?
Was it delayed jet-lag from their trip to Abu Dhabi to win the World Club Cup?
Was it Zinedine Zidane’s over-caution?
Whatever it was, it will be a long second half of the season at Madrid unless they can beat Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League and go for a third straight European Cup.
The surprise in Zidane’s line-up was the destructive Mateo Kovacic coming in for the creative Isco – it gave Madrid’s midfield a “dogs of war” feel.
Kovavic and Casemiro would took turns to smother Messi and Sergio Busquets and stop Barcelona playing.
It did not work.
The early kick-off had taken some of the edge off the atmosphere but it’s never too early for Luis Suarez to complain to a linesman.
He was right too when the referee’s assistant flagged him in error in Barcelona’s first attack.
Cristiano Ronaldo was lively early on and he should have scored on 10 minutes when Benzema squared to him in the area but he kicked fresh air instead and Iniesta scrambled the loose ball away injuring himself in the process.
The Spain midfielder recovered but was having trouble getting Barcelona playing.
They were knocking it long to Suarez and Messi and it was not long before coach Ernesto Valerde was urging full-back Jordi Alba to move forward and give the team more width.
Barcelona seemed to be waiting for Madrid to take the game to them – it was the home side who needed the points after all – but they came out of their shell on the half hour and so nearly took the lead when Messi clipped a pass over the top and Paulinho didn’t waste anytime getting his volleyed shot away.
Navas finger-tipped it away for a corner.
Real Madrid responded immediately with a Ronaldo cross-shot that Marc Andre ter Stegen pushed away for a corner.
The last action of the first half saw Messi hit Ronaldo with a free-kick and then offer him his hand as the two teams went down the tunnel.
In the second half Barcelona found some fight and Real Madrid failed to respond.
Busquets started a move playing the ball forward to Ivan Rakitic and he sent it wide right to Sergio Roberto.
The full-back’s cross found Suarez at the far post and he finished to give Barcelona the lead.
Madrid had not reappeared after the interval and soon they were 2-0 behind and with a man less on the pitch.
Messi played in Suarez whose shot was saved by Navas. Suarez hit the post from the rebound and when it came out again Paulinho had the next shot that Carvajal saved with his hand.
Paulinho bundled in the rebound but the referee gave a penalty and sent the Spain full-back off.
Messi blasted the penalty past Navas and into the roof of the net.
Gareth Bale had been waiting to come on but was sent back to sit down.
Bale and Marco Asensio finally came on with 20 minutes left.
Bale was straight into the action and a fine save from Ter Stegen stopped him pulling a goal back.
Barcelona the found the third in injury time with Aleix Vidal scoring through a crowed penalty area.
When time was called it was not just the end of the Christmas Clasico; it was probably the end of Real Madrid’s domestic season. — Dailymail
