The first Clasico of the season is out of the way, with Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo owning the bragging rights thanks to a win over Barcelona, not doing a lot after their early goal, with Lionel Messi putting in his weakest performance of the season.
Cristiano Ronaldo gets to gloat, although he didn’t do much during the match, but he scored from his favorite spot on the pitch. No diving this time, but simply enjoying an awful decision from Gerard Pique, handling the ball with his hand.
Lionel Messi didn’t do much either, but he didn’t score. In truth, the big loser from this match is Luis Enrique, doing something that made no sense tactics-wise, making it seem like he’s afraid of Real Madrid instead of playing to his team’s strengths.
Barcelona still lead the league but in their two tests this season against formidable opposition, they failed to play at the high level expected of them. They also conceded three goals against both Real Madrid and PSG, another reason for concern.
