Barcelona, Real Madrid Play to Rare Scoreless Draw in El Clasico
Neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid could break through on Wednesday, with the two Spanish rivals playing to a rare scoreless draw in the latest edition of El Clasico.
Barcelona entered the day ahead of Real Madrid for first place in La Liga on goal differential alone, and it remains that way after the 0-0 draw, which brings the all-time league record between the two sides to 72-72-35. According to statistics outfit Opta, it was the first scoreless Clasico in all competitions since November 2002–a span of 6,235 days.
Both sides had chances cleared off the line, and Gareth Bale had a late goal ruled out for an offside in the build-up in match that had been postponed from October due to Catalan separatist protests. More protests accompanied this match, with thousands of police and security being deputized at Camp Nou, and the match was halted briefly in the 55th minute for a minor disturbance.
Barcelona looked to strike early, with Antoine Griezmann's cross for Luis Suarez just out of the reach of the Uruguayan star in the fifth minute.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen was forced into his first save in the 10th minute, with the Barcelona goalkeeper denying Karim Benzema's left-footed blast from the edge of the area after a gorgeous back-heel set-up from Isco.
Real Madrid nearly scored again in the 17th minute, as Gerard Pique cleared Benzema's header off the line just before it could fully cross.
Real Madrid continued to be the better team, controlling the run of play and bossing the possession game away from home, and it forced ter Stegen into another save when Casemiro ripped a speculative chance from distance in the 25th minute that was put out for a corner with the goalkeeper's diving save.
Sergio Ramos turned in a goal-line clearance of his own, with Lionel Messi having a parried ball fall to his feet for a first-time rebound. The Spanish veteran kept it out, though, keeping things scoreless at the half-hour mark.
Barcelona came close again in the 41st, with the tide of the match turning. Messi lofted a trademark ball over the top for Jordi Alba, whose first-time effort trickled just wide of the far post.
Ter Stegen was forced into another diving save from a long range blast, with Federico Valverde's volley searing toward goal, only for the German to make the clean stop in the 44th minute.
The match came to a halt as the hour mark neared, with the Catalan separatist protests outside of the stadium appearing to pour over inside the stadium. Beach balls were thrown onto the field as fans chanted in the stands.
After play resumed, Barcelona nearly scored. Messi had a great chance to redirect a ball at the goal mouth, but he missed on the connection while under defensive pressure, and the scoreless bout continued.
Minutes after Gareth Bale shanked a chance from a left-sided angle, he had a would-be go-ahead goal ruled out for offside. Ferland Mendy was narrowly offside before taking down a pass and serving it up for Bale to tap home, and the call on the field was upheld after video review in the 72nd minute.
Neither side seriously threatened after that, ending on even terms and keeping La Liga's race at the top just as tight heading into the weekend's slate of matches.
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Here were the lineups for both sides:
There's little time for either side to stew over Wednesday's result, as Barcelona is back in action Saturday at home vs. Alaves, while Real Madrid resumes play Sunday at home vs. Athletic Bilbao.
