Tracking Performances of Real Madrid, Barcelona Stars After Weekend of Oct. 25
Our usual weekly look at some of the biggest names in La Liga takes a slightly different twist this weekend—after Real Madrid and Barcelona met each other in 2014-15's first Clasico of the season.
Real Madrid emerged victorious by a 3-1 scoreline despite falling behind early on, in a game which saw the debut of Luis Suarez and ended with Real in third place, one point behind joint-leaders Barcelona. Here's all the latest on the big-six's performances and seasonal stats.
El Clasico Performances and Grades, Real Madrid Style
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Gareth Bale missed the match through injury once more, but Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez both played pivotal roles for the victors.
With Real once more lining up in a fluid 4-4-2 shape, Ronaldo played as a free-roving centre-forward with licence to drop deep, support on the counter and work the channels to give his side an out-ball. He was frequently ready to play short passes back into midfield before sprinting off and finding space to receive possession closer to the Barcelona goal, and also managed to keep up his scoring record.
It should be no surprise that Ronaldo was finally the man to breach Barcelona's defence, his penalty being the first effort past Claudio Bravo in this season's La Liga, finding the target in the 11th match in succession for his club.
"Cristiano Ronaldo scores in his 11th Real Madrid game in a row—now has 19 goals in that time. http://t.co/UCutPTjPss pic.twitter.com/0h51XwknH6
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) October 25, 2014"
James, meanwhile, was once more quietly impressive from his narrow right-sided role in midfield.
The Colombian was quick to attack infield off the ball, always looking to make up the extra number in the penalty area when the ball came in from the opposite flank, and got through more than his share of work defensively too.
James should have scored with a free header in the box, but showed the creative side to his game during the 90 minutes and claimed an assist when he freed Karim Benzema to score the third goal—with Ronaldo also involved in the build-up.
Ratings: Cristiano Ronaldo, 8/10. James Rodriguez, 9/10. Gareth Bale, N/A.
El Clasico Performances and Grades, Barcelona Style
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique finally got to field his big three in attack and went for it from the start, handing Luis Suarez a surprise full debut from the right side, with Neymar on the opposite flank and Lionel Messi through the centre.
Things couldn't have started much better for the newest recruit as Suarez whipped a crossfield ball from the right to the feet of Neymar, claiming an instant assist as the Brazilian swept infield and curled home the opening goal early on.
"Neymar stuns the Bernabeu! Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona after 4 minutes #ElClasico [via @AckerAnthony] http://t.co/D0DfzsSIQI
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) October 25, 2014"
Despite plenty of attacking possession, that was as good as the end product got for Barça during the game.
Suarez showed some good early signs of link-up play with his new team-mates and fizzed another low ball over for Messi to attack—though the Argentine missed the chance to equal La Liga's scoring record by sending his shot wide of the goal. Suarez didn't manage to get a shot away during his time on the pitch, but instead played more of a supporting role, working hard and offering himself down the flank, keeping the width and trying to pin back Marcelo.
Messi was his usual busy self in dropping into deep areas to combine play and try to find space to work in, waltzing past defenders and looking to play in attacking team-mates for chances on goal.
The only thing missing was his final finish, as he spurned four shots, the last of which summed up Barcelona's game a little: A promising free-kick in the final moments which sailed well over the bar.
For Neymar, that early curled goal was very much not the sign of things to come—he failed to get a shot on target for the rest of the match.
Ratings: Lionel Messi, 7/10. Neymar, 6/10. Luis Suarez, 6/10.
Matchday Stats Comparison
| Ronaldo | 90 | 52 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| James | 90 | 72 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Suarez | 69 | 45 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Messi | 90 | 81 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Neymar | 90 | 64 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Season Stats Comparison
| Messi | 9 | 7 | 116 | 7 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 3.8 |
| Suarez | 1 | 0 | N/A | 1 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| Neymar | 6 (2) | 9 | 57 | 1 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 1.6 |
| Ronaldo | 8 | 16 | 45 | 1 | 2.5 | 6.6 | 1.9 |
| Bale | 7 | 4 | 151 | 3 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 0.9 |
| James | 9 | 2 | 384 | 4 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 0.9 |
