Tracking Performances of Real Madrid, Barcelona Superstars After Oct. 5 Weekend
The "battle for possession" between Rayo Vallecano and Barcelona ended in the latter's favour, with 59 percent of the play and two goals to zero, per WhoScored.com. Real Madrid smashed Athletic Bilbao 5-0 in response.
Our weekly feature looking at the stars from both teams continues this weekend, with our focus on the world's best two, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, plus their supporting acts from Neymar, Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez and James Rodriguez—the big signings from each club over the past two summers.
Here's our rundown of their games from this weekend.
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Barcelona's Two Goalscorers
Last season, for the first time since Pep Guardiola ramped up the focus of Barcelona possession back in 2008, a team outpossessed the Blaugrana in a game of football. That team was Rayo Vallecano.
Gerardo Martino, then-boss of the club, was slaughtered for ceding 54 percent of the play to the minnows despite actually winning the game 4-0. This was Barca's chance for revenge despite not losing, and both Lionel Messi and Neymar stepped up.
They scored within a minute of each other—Messi in the 35th minute, then Neymar in the 36th. First, the Argentine sensation latched onto a hopeful Gerard Pique through ball and finished deftly, lifting it over the 'keepers paws.
Munir El Haddadi then forced the ball into Neymar's path, and he converted a one-on-one too. And Barca coasted to victory after Rayo were reduced to nine men.
Real Madrid Dish Out a Rollocking
Real Madrid piled the misery on Athletic Bilbao, ensuring their horrendous run of form continued in a 5-0 victory.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the second minute, heading home a Gareth Bale cross, and went on to score two more and complete a fairly easy hat-trick. He also grabbed an assist, and Bale collected one more, making it one hell of a statistical night for Carlo Ancelotti's two wing wonders.
As a result, James Rodriguez had a quiet night in central midfield. He grabbed a lot of touches and totalled three tackles. And in fairness, when BBC (Benzema-Bale-Cristiano) run the show, he can take a lighter role.
Matchday Stats Comparison
| Player | Mins played | Touches | Key passes | Shots | On target | Dribbles | Assists | Goals |
| Bale | 90 | 54 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| James | 90 | 85 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ronaldo | 90 | 51 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Messi | 90 | 66 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Neymar | 80 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Season Stats Comparison
| Player | Apps | Goals | Assists | Key passes per game | Shots per game | Dribbles per game |
| Bale | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.9 |
| James | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 1 |
| Ronaldo | 6 | 13 | 1 | 2.5 | 6.8 | 1.5 |
| Messi | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
| Neymar | 4 (2) | 7 | 0 | 0.3 | 3.2 | 1.3 |
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