A new era in the biggest rivalry? Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both not getting on the scoresheet? Too soon to tell, but the heroes for Barcelona were Alexis Sanchez with a beautiful goal and Neymar scoring the opener, while Real Madrid found their breakthrough with the young Jese way too late in the 2-1 defeat.
Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to win a penalty kick in the second half after Javier Mascherano tripped him on his way to the goal, but doing it supposedly with a lean in instead of a clear foul, making it difficult enough for the referee to observe.
A match that was mostly a tactical battle between two teams not brave enough to open up early on, but Barcelona had enough talent up front to make something happen. Neymar did enjoy a lucky touch from one of Real’s defenders in his shot to score the opening goal, but he was very hard for Real Madrid defenders to mark.
The second goal for Barcelona came deep into the second half, with Alexis Sanchez, coming in for Cesc Fabregas in a weak performance, showing just how improved he is this season. Instead of waiting or trying to beat a defender in a one on one, he noticed Diego Lopez positioned badly outside his goal, finishing with a brilliant chip, making it too much for Real Madrid to overcome.
From that moment, the final 20 minutes were the tactical breakdown as both teams found themselves in excellent chances, with Lionel Messi finally finding some freedom to make things happen in the penalty box, although it didn’t come to anything. Jese scored for Real Madrid in the 90th minute which came way too late for them to change the match in which they probably were the slightly more dangerous side, but were slightly unlucky in the second half, but also played too defensive for about 60 minutes to deserve actually winning this match.