Real Madrid Defeat Barcelona 3-1 In First 'El Clasico' Of The Season

Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona have faced off in the first "el Clasico" of the 2014/15 LIGA BBVA Season and Real Madrid have come out on top. The whites hosted the Catalan team at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday evening after an emphatic victory against Liverpool earlier in the week and the momentum continued with a 3-1 win over their biggest rivals.

Madrid came into the match with one of its key players, Gareth Bale, sitting in the sidelines after suffering an injury in the FIFA International matches held last week, Bale proved crucial in the Copa Del Rey Final last season against Barcelona where he scored the lone goal which handed Real the title. Luis Suarez, Barcelona's new signing who has been suspended due to a biting incident when his native Colombia played against Italy in the World Cup, made his debut clasico appearance

It was Neymar Jr. who made his presence felt early in the game however when he powered a ball through the Madrid defence and a fully outstretched Iker Casillas to find the back of the net as early as the 4^th minute. Madrid looked strong in the opening 15 minutes but it was Barcelona who put it where it mattered and Neymar put his team ahead 1-0 for most of the first half.

With less than 15 minutes to go before the break, Madrid were powering forward and continuing to create opportunities. By this time, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. have already been shown a yellow card each.

The breakthrough for the hosts came when Gerard Pique picked up his own caution when he used his hand to cut off a ball from Marcelo deep in the Madrid box. The referee pointed to the box and it was Cristiano Ronaldo who stepped up to the plate. He put in an effortless penalty to equalise ten minutes before the match went into halftime. Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta picked up his own yellow card bringing their tall to four yellow cards in the first half.

When the match resumed, Madrid were in total control. With many of Barcelona's key players already holding on to cautions, they were unable to keep the game physical and aggressive. The tables were turned and it was Real Madrid who would score early in the half with Pepe heading in past Claudio Bravo after only five minutes.

The confidence was high in the Madrid camp after having taken the lead and they kept breaking through the Barcelona defence. The Barcelona players needed to score and as a result, their defence suffered. Madrid was able to go on numerous counter-attacks and one such counter led to the third goal on the 61^st minute. It was a real show of teamwork as Isco dribbled the ball down the pitch and passed it on to Ronaldo. Instead of taking it through on his own, Ronaldo slotted the ball over to James which left Benzema open to take the assist and defeat Bravo with a powerful shot to the corner of the goal just out of the keeper's reach.

With the victory, Real Madrid was able to close the gap to Barcelona down to only one point at the top of the Spanish Primera Liga table. Barcelona now has 22 points against Real Madrid's 21. Title holders Atletico Madrid meanwhile, lie in 5th place with 17 points.

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