Tracking Performances of Real Madrid, Barcelona Stars After Weekend of Nov. 8
We continue our usual roundup of Barcelona's and Real Madrid's biggest stars this weekend by looking at the victories for both teams on Saturday in jornada 11 of La Liga.
Barcelona came from behind to defeat Almeria 2-1, while Real Madrid led early on and eventually ran out 5-1 over Rayo Vallecano, their 13th win in a row in all competitions.
Barcelona's Comeback Win
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
In a surprise move, head coach Luis Enrique opted to drop both Neymar and Luis Suarez to the bench for Barcelona, a move that most certainly didn't pay dividends. Lionel Messi continued in his centre-forward position.
The Argentine had a couple of early chances to get the goal he craves for La Liga's scoring record but was denied by some determined defensive blocks. Other than that, it was a frustrating first 45 minutes as Barcelona were second-best by some distance, with Almeria deservedly ahead at the break—and their goal came from a Messi error.
Barcelona's No. 10 tried to take on too many players in attack, lost the ball and had to watch as Almeria countered to score through Thievy Bifouma.
Enrique brought both Neymar and Suarez on at the break—and the latter had a telling impact in the second half.
"3 - Luis Suarez has provided three assists in his two league games away from home this season with Barcelona. Nomadic
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 8, 2014"
Suarez was a buzzing, fiery menace who did everything well: He held the ball up, ran behind the defence, took a couple of shots and claimed two vital assists to turn the game and give his team victory. First, he spun down the right channel and laid a low cross on a plate for Neymar to turn home from close range off of the defender, before a similar scenario saw Suarez set up Jordi Alba for the winner.
"Neymar! Scrappy, but made by Suarez. [Vine via @FutbolBenditoIN] http://t.co/2hIsTuTzqz
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) November 8, 2014"
As with in the game against Celta Vigo a week ago, the crossbar was Barcelona's biggest opponent: Messi headed two efforts against the crossbar, and Suarez volleyed a tremendous effort off the woodwork too. For much of the rest of the game, Neymar was quiet and didn't get involved enough for Barcelona—though his 10th goal of the season was of course vital.
Barcelona player ratings: Lionel Messi, 6/10; Luis Suarez, 8/10; Neymar, 6/10.
Real Madrid Make it Lucky 13
Real Madrid brought Gareth Bale back into their starting lineup, meaning that all six of our focus players featured in the same gameweek for the first time this season.
Along with Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez, Bale helped Real Madrid to a 5-1 victory over Rayo.
The Welshman took only a few minutes to mark his return, sprinting in off the right flank to slide home a low cross and score his fifth goal of the league season. His pace and willingness to run in behind the defence gave Real a great out-ball as usual, even if he understandably didn't look his absolute sharpest or most agile following injury.
"Gareth Bale is back! [Vine via @RMadridHome] http://t.co/EuPzr6NXuY
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) November 8, 2014"
Late in the game, he went for a spectacular second only to be denied by a fine save by the keeper onto the bar.
James switched to a left-sided role for the match and in truth didn't have his most effective match. In attack, he had a few moments where his link play was as good as ever, but after a run of excellent form where he has been one of Real Madrid's best players, the Rayo game was a little come-down for the Colombian.
His biggest moment in the game was undoubtedly, and unfortunately, a negative one: a terribly misguided back-pass to goalkeeper Keylor Navas, which never came close to reaching its destination. Rayo intercepted and scored from it, momentarily closing the gap in the game.
Ronaldo, of course, was heavily involved throughout the game and was Madrid's top performer.
No. 7 was instrumental in Madrid's typically assured and fast-paced attack, running at the defence and continuing his recent creative form to lay on plenty of chances for his team-mates. Ronaldo set up Toni Kroos for a low, curled shot for Madrid's third goal and drilled a lower cross for Karim Benzema to tap home the fourth—albeit from offside.
Surprisingly, the disappointment for Ronaldo was with his shooting—until his worst effort of the night somehow slipped under the keeper's body for Madrid's fifth of the night.
"27 - Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in 18 of his last 19 league appearances (27 goals). Gold.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 8, 2014"
Real Madrid player ratings: Cristiano Ronaldo, 9/10; Gareth Bale, 7/10; James Rodriguez, 6/10.
Matchday Stats Comparison
| Messi | 90 | 65 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Neymar | 45 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Suarez | 45 | 28 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Bale | 85 | 37 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| James | 68 | 58 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ronaldo | 90 | 55 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Season Stats Comparison
| Messi | 11 | 7 | 141 | 7 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 3.9 |
| Suarez | 2 (1) | 0 | n/a | 1 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.3 |
| Neymar | 7 (3) | 10 | 65 | 3 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 1.8 |
| Ronaldo | 10 | 18 | 50 | 5 | 2.8 | 6.3 | 1.9 |
| Bale | 8 | 5 | 137 | 3 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 1.4 |
| James | 11 | 4 | 231 | 4 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 0.8 |
