Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Winners and Losers from El Clasico

Barcelona and Real Madrid played in an excellent El Clasico on Thursday, which also doubled as the first leg of the 2012 Supercopa de Espana.

Barca ended up on top, 3-2, after a few of their players stepped up and put together excellent performances.

It was a great match on both sides, but the Blaugrana were just better. Let’s take a look at the players that made the biggest difference.

Winners

Andres Iniesta

Iniesta was the Man of the Match, without question. The midfielder dominated the game from the first minute until the last, making pinpoint passes and crafty runs with the ball at his feet.

Without the play of "El Ilusionista," Barca would have never had the goals needed to win. He directly contributed to two of them, assisting Xavi and drawing a penalty kick that Lionel Messi buried.

Xavi

The midfielder who sealed the victory for Barca was brilliant for 83 minutes before coming off for Cesc Fabregas.

He slammed home a pass from Iniesta to finish the game and send the Camp Nou crowd into a tizzy.

Xavi also made an impact on the game with excellent ball control and passing that set up the Barcelona attack.

Losers

Jose Callejon

The Real Madrid wing was playing back on defense for much of the match and was completely out of place.

Barca took advantage of his ineptitude and continued to attack the weak point in the Madrid defense. It obviously worked, as it allowed a Barca victory in their home stadium.

Alexis Sanchez

Sanchez was easily the worst player on Barcelona this Thursday. His dribbling was absolutely atrocious; he kept diving and was almost booked for “contact” with Sergio Ramos.

The 23-year-old Chilean forward has to be better going forward for this team to win the Spanish Supercopa.