On Sunday, four matches of the 33rd round of the Spanish "La Liga" championship were played. This round was exceptional - football fans' attention was caught by the "El Clasico" duel.
At 21:45 Lithuanian time, Real Madrid welcomed Barcelona in front of their own fans. After an incredible 90 minutes of battle, Lionel Messi extended the Catalans' victory to 3-2 in the 92nd minute.
The match started with a very active game from the Real team - in the first five minutes, the "whites" completely dominated the field and did not allow the visitors from Barcelona to start attacks.
The first goal of the match came in the 28th minute when after Sergio Ramos' shot, the ball rebounded straight to Casemiro's feet, and he effortlessly sent the ball into Barca's net. The score became 1-0.
However, soon after - in the 33rd minute - the Spanish champions managed to equalize the score. After Ivan Rakitic's pass into the penalty area, Lionel Messi broke through with an excellent move and shot that beat Keylor Navas.
In the second half, "El Clasico" reached true intensity - both Keylor Navas and Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to demonstrate their ability. Both goalkeepers saved their teams from goals, while defenders were a bit slack at the time.
In the 73rd minute, the visitors from Catalonia triumphed - a magnificent shot by Ivan Rakitic from about 18 meters put Barcelona ahead. Real Madrid tried to equalize the situation, but all efforts were wiped out by an uncalculated move by Sergio Ramos in the middle of the field - while trying to stop a quick attack by the visitors, he fouled Lionel Messi and was sent off the field.
Real Madrid had to play with ten men, but in front of their own fans, they showed real character. In the 85th minute, after a great pass from Marcelo, James Rodriguez was left unmarked and unexpectedly equalized the score.
Barcelona was a bit surprised, because even after the equalizing goal, when Real Madrid could have preserved the result, they were pressed by the hosts. For that, Zinedine Zidane's players paid dearly - just a few seconds before the end of the match, the Catalans struck the dagger into Keylor Navas' defended goal.
In the 92nd minute, after a pass from Jordi Alba, Lionel Messi scored the winning third goal with his trademark finish. Messi will remember this victory for a long time - it was his 500th goal in the Spanish championship.
Barcelona's victory brought a huge intrigue back to the La Liga championship. Triumphant at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, the Catalans leveled with Real Madrid in points and are now at the top of the league table due to a better goal difference. However, the "royal" club has played fewer matches so far.
The remaining three matches ended with victories for Real Sociedad over Deportivo and Real Betis over Celta, as well as a draw between Las Palmas and Alaves.
Results:
"Real Madrid" 2 - 3 "Barcelona"
28' [1 - 0] Casemiro
33' [1 - 1] L. Messi
73' [1 - 2] I. Rakitic
85' [2 - 2] J. Rodriguez
90+2' [2 - 3] L. Messi
77' S. Ramos ("Real") sent off the field
"Real Sociedad" 1 - 0 "Deportivo"
"Celta" 0 - 1 "Real Betis"
"Las Palmas" 1 - 1 "Alaves"
League Table:
Starting Lineups:
"Real Madrid": Navas; Carvajal, Nacho, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric; Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale.
Substitutes: Casilla, Danilo, James, Kovacic, Asensio, Morata, Isco.
"Barcelona": Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitic; Suárez, Messi, Alcácer.
Substitutes: Cillessen, Denis, Turan, Mascherano, Digne, Gomes, Alena.
