Barcelona are on top of La Liga by four points, thanks to an excellent performance against Real Madrid in El Clásico.
The massive lead that Real Madrid had in La Liga has now turned into a multi-game deficit. Barcelona lead the league by four points after Sunday's impressive 2-1 win in El Clásico.
Barca got on the board early, with Jeremy Mathieu heading in a free kick by Lionel Messi to fire the Blaugrana in front in the first half. The two sides were level at the halftime break, though, thanks to an excellent team goal by Madrid. Luka Modrić found Karim Benzema, who played a perfect backheel assist to Cristiano Ronaldo.
But Los Merengues appeared to wear down in the second half. Dani Alves set up Luis Suarez for the eventual winner, and Madrid didn't have enough gas in the tank left to fight back.
1. Javier Mascherano is different from Sergio Busquets, but he's just as good
There's no replacement for Busquets. The regular starter at the base of Barcelona's midfield is so many different things for his team -- a ball-winner, a holder to halt counters, a link between defense and attack and an outlet to retain possession. Javier Mascherano has admitted he can't replace Busquets, but he brought something to the table in this Clásico that Busquets doesn't -- absolute tenacity.
Busquets can play in physical, cynical games because he had Old Man Game when he was 21, but he's not the pitbull Mascherano is in midfield. And in this game, a pitbull was something Barcelona needed. Mascherano performed that job perfectly.
2. Luka Modrić means everything to Real Madrid
Even though Real Madrid didn't win, this was the best performance that they've turned in against a quality opponent in quite some time. Their three losses against Atlético Madrid, their loss at San Mames and the embarrassing collapse at Schalke all had one thing in common -- Modrić didn't start. He was in the center for this game, and was by far his team's most influential player.
That Madrid had any spells of dominance at all at Camp Nou, with a two-man center of midfield against Barcelona's three, is incredible. It's down to the complete nature of Modrić's game, and how much better his decision-making is than everyone else Madrid has played in his spot while he was injured. This loss was a setback for Madrid, but with Modrić healthy, they still have a chance to win the La Liga title.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo scored, but Lionel Messi was the star
The way that Ronaldo and Messi played on Sunday was less the product of their individual abilities and more what their managers asked them to do. Carlo Ancelotti set his team up in a way that purposely removed Ronaldo's creative and defensive responsibilities, turning him into a poacher, while Luis Enrique asked Messi to drop deeper than usual and create for his forward partners.
Ultimately, this led to Ronaldo scoring a goal, but Messi being the game's most influential player. His only goal or assist was the free kick to Jeremy Mathieu for the opener, but he controlled the match after Barca went ahead as equal parts midfield metronome and advanced playmaker. He was the man who helped retain possession under pressure from Madrid and who drove Barca forward when there were spots to attack. He didn't really look to score for himself, he didn't have to, and he was flawless.
On the other end, Ronaldo performed the job he was asked to do, but perhaps the job he was given was a miscalculation by Ancelotti.
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