Barca hold on for draw against Real – five things we learned

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona emerged from a thrilling Clasico the more satisfied on Sunday as the 10-man Catalans edged closer to a first unbeaten La Liga season following a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid. 

Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergi Roberto both missed the second half at Camp Nou, the first injured, the second sent off, as Gareth Bale’s late strike rescued Real a point. Lionel Messi had given Barca the lead after early goals from Ronaldo and Luis Suarez. 

Barca, already crowned champions, remain 15 points ahead of Real in the table but this clash was about more than just points. 

Here, we look at five things we learned from a controversial contest.

No such thing as a dead Clasico 

If Sunday’s match proved anything, it is that the Clasico always means something. Eight yellow cards and one red pointed to the heat in the game, which fizzed throughout and briefly erupted during five bad-tempered minutes at the end of the first half. Without the usual relevance to the league table, and with their differing fates in La Liga and the Champions League, this match came down to a basic need to prove one team was better than the other. Barca will claim Real scraped a draw against opponents down to 10 men for half of the match while Real will say they were without their star player for the same time, and perhaps longer at full fitness. And that is not to mention the many grievances against the referee, from both sides, that could have swung the result. In the end, the debate was left open. 

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