El Clasico Highlights: Barcelona trounce Real Madrid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu

Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-0 at Santiago Bernabeu. (Source: Reuters)

Barcelona arrived, endured Real Madrid surge in the first 45 minutes but turned things around in the second 45 minutes for a 3-0 rout of the Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu. The win extended Barcelona’s lead over Clasico rivals to 14 points and the top two (Barcelona and Atletico Madrid) are separated by nine points now. Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal put their name on the scoresheet while Dani Carvajal saw red for a deliberate handball. The game had been pretty event in the first half before it changed with Barcelona controlling things in the middle of the pitch in the second. The Real Madrid quartet gave away plenty of space and once the first went into the net, there was no letting up. Real Madrid tried to get back with plenty of attacks but none of them went in the back of the net with Marc Andre ter Stegen continuing to remain a wall for the Catalans. With that, Barcelona go in as champions of the first half of the season and the “winter champions”.

El Clasico, Real Madrid vs Barcelona Highlights, Scores and Updates:

1930 hrs IST: FULL TIME! Barcelona win this 3-0 and have built a massive lead over their historic foes here. 14 points between Barcelona (1st) and Real Madrid (4th) now in the table. Atletico Madrid, in second, are nine points adrift with Valencia in third. That’s the league all but done!

1920 hrs IST: GOAL! Barcelona make it 3-0 inside stoppage time. Vidal scores with his first touch of the ball. Messi darts past a defender, finds space inside the area, pulls it inside the goalmouth and it comes to Vidal who slots it into the goal. Navas got plenty to it but not enough to stop it from creeping in underneath him

1918 hrs IST: Andre Gomes has another chance to score and make it 3-0 to Barcelona but he opens up his body right but his effort is blazed over. Also Busquets has been booked for a foul on Marcelo. Final Barcelona change sees Sergi Roberto go off for Aleix Vidal.

1916 hrs IST: Second change for Barcelona and it sees Paulinho go off for Andre Gomes. The substitute is quick to get involved and runs down the right side to test Navas

1913 hrs IST: Meanwhile, Marcelo has been booked for protesting and asking for a penalty

1912 hrs IST: Appeal for penalty after  an attempt cross hits Rakitic on the hand. But it is too close to the body for a penalty. Fair decision by the referee. Falls to Ramos who tries to take a shot but it hits Ter Stegen’s shoulder and goes over. Chances piling up for Madrid but not resulting in a goal

1908 hrs IST: Navas denies substitute Semedo by going low and saving with his feet. Hits his midrift and goes away for a corner. Barcelona lead by 2-0

1905 hrs IST: SAVED! Ter Stegen with a sublime save to deny Bale. He has not had much to do in this second half but he’s alive enough to highlight how important he has been this season for the Catalans. Cut back into Bale, who takes shot with the right foot from behind him and it is saved by the Barca keeper

1904 hrs IST: CHANGE: Barcelona make their first change. Iniesta goes off for Semedo.

1903 hrs IST: Messi piling on the records. Scores his 25th goal in Clasico history – most by an individual in the rivalry. With the 526th goal, he has become the highest scorer in Europe’s top leagues and has surpassed Gerd Muller.

1901 hrs IST: Finally the changes take place. Kovacic and Casemiro go off to be replaced by Bale and Asensio.

1854 hrs IST: Zidane makes all the changes. Benzema goes off to jeers as Nacho comes on. Waiting for Bale and Asensio to come on who were the original changes.

1849 hrs IST: Barcelona have started to grow into the game. And it looks all but over for Real Madrid. RED CARD FOR CARVAJAL. He is booked for a deliberate hand ball inside the area after Barcelona all but score a simple goal. Suarez played through by Messi but the Uruguayan’s shot is saved. Continues and the ball is headed into the goal but Carvajal stops it. PENALTY! Lionel Messi steps up and thumps the penalty home. Barcelona lead 2-0!

1846 hrs IST: Yellow card for Ramos. He’s booked for a foul on Suarez. Almost thumps him with his right arm on the side of Suarez’s head.

1841 hrs IST: GOAL!! Luis Suarez has put Barcelona ahead against the run of play. Half of that goal should go to Busquets who turned beautifully inside his half to beat Kroos for dead. From then on, he found Rakitic in the middle of the pitch. The Croatian moved forward and played it to Sergi Roberto on the right side of the box who plays it into Suarez’s path for a simple tap in past Navas. BARCELONA LEAD IN THE 54th MINUTE!

1839 hrs IST: Feisty start to the second. Challenges from both teams – some looking dirty but not enough to earn anyone a booking. Or in Ramos’ case, a red card.

1835 hrs IST: And we’re underway in the second half at the Santiago Bernabeu. Asensio, Bale and Isco are warming up for Real Madrid. No chances from either teams

1820 hrs IST: It is 0-0 at half time at the Santiago Bernabeu. Chances for both teams. Ronaldo missed a cutback, Benzema grazed the post, Paulinho’s shot was tipped over

1816 hrs IST: FREE KICK! Barcelona earn a free kick at the stroke of half time. A minute added on by the way. Messi takes the free kick and it hits Ronaldo, in the wall, on the head. Poor free kick. And that is also half time.

1815 hrs IST: Frantic activity in the last five or so minutes. Nearing half time here. Barely been any stoppage of substance though. Expect a minute added on.

1811 hrs IST: Real Madrid once again pile on the pressure. Ronaldo moves down the left side. Barcelona defence is stretched and made to focus on both wings with Carvajal providing support on the right. Nothing concrete from the attack but a minute later, Marcelo whips in a cross and Benzema heads it downward while enduring a challenge from a Barcelona shirt. It hits the outside of the post and goes for a goal kick.

1809 hrs IST: Keepers continue to shine here. Messi goes past two defenders who were marking him. Finds the space for a cross at the near post for Paulinho who is first to it and attacks the ball. Heads to the near post and Navas dives to his right to parry it away

1802 hrs IST: At the other end, Ter Stegen is equally sublime. Cristiano Ronaldo makes a yard of space to take a shot from his left foot but the Barcelona keeper goes down low to save and see the ball go wide of the goal. Corner for the home side but nothing results from it

1801 hrs IST: SAVED! Messi sees Paulinho make an off-the-ball run, plays into his path and the right footed shot is tipped over by Navas. Fingertips!

1752 hrs IST: First booking of the game is for Vermaelen who is booked for a foul on Modric.

1751 hrs IST: Chance for Barcelona. Paulinho is through and has the space to test Navas but doesn’t fall too kindly in the end. Finally Barcelona making some headway after enduring pressure for first 20 minutes

1741 hrs IST: MISS! Absolute air shot from Ronaldo there. Cut back from the left by Kroos, comes into Ronaldo’s path and he completely misses the ball. Falls to Carvajal who tries to take a first time shot but is blocked by Iniesta. The veteran midfielder goes off for attention – looks to be a painful one.

1735 hrs IST: GOAL! Or not. Ronaldo is….offside! Flick on header from a corner comes into Ronaldo’s path who heads it into the roof of the goal. But the linesman has the flag up for offside and rightly so.

1730 hrs IST: After Sergio Ramos shows off the Club World Cup to the Real Madrid faithful, we’re up and running in the first half. Some support from ‘Puyi’ for Barcelona

1725 hrs IST: And we’re ready to begin. Anthems ring out at the Bernabeu. Paulinho and Casemiro share a laugh inside the tunnel. Real Madrid captain Ramos goes up to greet Spanish national teammates

1700 hrs IST: Up until last night, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid were the two teams to have been unbeaten in the league. That list reduced to just Barcelona after Espanyol beat Atleti 1-0. Real could be doing their cross town rivals a big favour in keeping the la Liga alive with a win. They’re six points adrift. Valencia, in third, also close on heels.

1640 hrs IST: The stage is set for the Clasico. Bright and sunny inside the Bernabeu. Fans trickling but coming in numbers for the BIG ONE!

1620 hrs IST: TEAM NEWS: Zidane with a cagey midfield choice comprising of Kroos, Modric, Casemiro and Kovacic. All with the aim of cramping the midfield and allow little space for Messi, Suarez and Iniesta to venture forward. Bale, yet to play since September, is on the bench. So is Isco who is expected to play a role at some point. Vermaelen starts for Barcelona in a surprising move. Barcelona, clearly, hurt by the injuries and the depth could be a problem if the game gets stretched.

Real Madrid XI: Navas, Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, Casemiro, Kovacic, Modric, Kroos, Ronaldo, Benzema

Real Madrid Bench: Bench: Casilla, Nacho, Bale, Theo, Lucas, Asensio, Isco

Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Pique, Vermaelen, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta, Paulinho; Messi and Suarez

Barcelona Bench: Cillessen, Semedo, Denis Suarez, Mascherano, Digne, Andre Gomes, Aleix Vidal

1615 hrs IST: For the first time ever, a Clasico is being played in the 12PM kickoff – only for the fans in Asia. Gets rather tricky to be playing at noon in December. It is 9 degrees celsius – far cry from the warm and fuzzy temperatures of Spain in the evenings. Usually this fixture earns the primetime slot but things have changed this time. What one can expect is that thousands will still turn up in numbers for the contest.

1600 hrs IST: Hello and Good Evening for this live coverage of Real Madrid vs Barcelona – more popularly named as El Clasico. For the unitiated, it means ‘The Classic’ and we’ve seen numerous classics between the two over the years. For Zinedine Zidane managed Real Madrid, a win is all that matters at this juncture. They desperately need a win to cut Barcelona’s lead – who have so far looked flawless. Quite like seasons in the past, whenever Barcelona have been pushed, piece of individual brilliance gets them out of a tricky position. It makes things interesting that Barcelona’s only defeat this season has come to Real Madrid – in the two-legged Super Copa. But this is a different position and Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has had time to get his formation and footing right.