10-man Madrid defeat Barcelona in El Clasico

Karim Benzema

Benzema opens scoring for Madrid in El Clasico

Benzema opens scoring for Madrid in El Clasico
Benzema opens scoring for Madrid in El Clasico

By Muhaimin Olowoporoku

Real Madrid overcame Barcelona in Saturday’s El Clasico, courtesy of a Karim Benzema opener and a Toni Kroos second goal, in the first half. 

The victory sent the defending champions top of La Liga.

Coach of Madrid, Zinedine Zidane was happy that his team were able to overcome Barcelona, their great rivals.

“We are very happy for the effort and work put in. I think we had a very good first half against a great rival”, he said after the match.

“In the end we deserved the victory because we had many chances to score the third goal, which would have been perfect for us.”

Barcelona were left to trail early into the match as Karim Benzema drew first blood on the visitors in the 13th minute.

Toni Kroos doubled the host’s lead in the 28th minute with a sublime free-kick as Madrid eased past a stubborn Barcelona side. 

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Despite Barcelona controlling the tempo of the game, and having 69-31 possession overall, they were left frustrated.

They could not find the back of the net throughout the first half, with  66 percent ball possession. 

The second half saw Barcelona trying to get their first goal in the game as they continued to pressure the Madrid defence.

Their efforts succeeded in the 60th minute when Oscar Mingueza pulled one back.

Barcelona kept on knocking on Madrid’s defence all to no avail.

The pressure made Madrid midfielder Casemiro get a red card after a reckless foul on Mingueza in the 90th minute. 

Real Madrid are now first on the LaLiga table as they tie with Atletico Madrid with 66 points.

Diego Simeon’s men can reclaim the top if they win their match against Real Betis on Sunday. 

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