El clasico 2018 Preview | Barcelona vs Real Madrid | Match review

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today we will show you Important Match Moments | Preview for El clasico 2018

Gareth Bale, Real Madrid Battle to 2-2 Clasico Draw with Barcelona at Camp Nou

Gareth Bale scored the equaliser for Real Madrid in Sunday's Clasico against Barcelona as the two rivals shared the spoils after a hard-fought match.

Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored in a fiery first half that ended with several bust-ups and a straight red card for Sergi Roberto.

Down to 10 men, Barcelona fought like lions in the second half and regained the lead through Lionel Messi. Real, without a hobbled Ronaldo after the break, equalised again through Gareth Bale and couldn't find a late winner.

The result means Barcelona's bid to go an entire La Liga campaign unbeaten is still alive.

Sunday's Result May Have Been Barcelona's Best

Unbeaten Barcelona have won 26 matches in La Liga this season, but if they manage to complete their "invincible" campaign, this 2-2 draw against their archrivals may go down as their best result of them all.

Not only did the Blaugrana survive Real's push for a winner with relative ease despite being down a man, but the Catalans had the better chances after the break and perhaps should have won.

Former England international Gary Lineker already has a nickname lined up for the champions:

Petty Real Refuse Guard of Honour

La Liga has a longstanding tradition of honouring its champions with a guard of honour, but Real Madrid had no interest in paying homage to their rivals, setting the tone for a chippy affair.

They were widely mocked for their petty stance, and deservedly so:
Los Blancos will defend their decision by pointing out Barcelona didn't do the same after Real won the Club World Cup, but there's no such tradition. Real were wrong, plain and simple.

El Clasico Needs Better Officials
If fans were afraid Sunday's Clasico would be a tame affair due to the lack of silverware at stake, they clearly weren't paying attention to how badly these teams hate each other. Aided by an official who completely lost the plot, the match got out of control at the end of the first half.

Suarez and Sergio Ramos started things off with a shoving match, Lionel Messi retaliated, and things only got worse from that point. Somehow, Gareth Bale got away with a horror tackle on Samuel Umtiti that didn't even result in a card, while Roberto lost his head and lashed out at Marcelo, earning himself an early shower.

Sportswriter Sid Lowe was not impressed with the officiating:

Messi's second-half goal came after what appeared to be a clear foul from Suarez on Raphael Varane, but play was allowed to continue.



Liverpool Can Feast on This Real Defence

Suarez's opening goal came after a wonderful attack that saw Roberto pick out the striker with a great cross, but it was hard to ignore the acres of space the full-back found himself in. Marcelo completely lost track of his man, the latest in a persistent line of defensive blunders that have plagued Real's defence of late.

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan singled out the Brazilian:

Messi's goal likely shouldn't have stood as Suarez was too aggressive in winning the ball from Varane, but the French defender didn't have the strongest footing and could have done better.

Between Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, Liverpool have the pace and quality to exploit such mistakes in the Champions League final.



Ronaldo Surpassed Di Stefano Long Ago

Alfredo Di Stefano is a celebrated figure in Real history for all the right reasons, but Sunday, Ronaldo tied yet another one of his club records:

Some fans were already convinced Raul surpassed Di Stefano as Real's greatest ever forward in the previous decade, but both of them sit well behind Ronaldo in that pecking order at this point.



Benzema's Surging Confidence

Karim Benzema has been a constant target for criticism all year long, but the former Lyon man is quietly putting together a solid stretch of late. He played a massive role in the Champions League semi-finals triumph against Bayern Munich, and it was his clever headed assist Sunday that gave Ronaldo the equaliser on a platter.

He has often reserved his best performances for the European stage, including this year, bagging four goals in the Champions League and just five in La Liga. It would be a fitting end to the season if his improving form saw him star against Liverpool later this month.

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