Craig Burley joins SportsCenter to discuss his thoughts on whether or not Zinedine Zidane will remain Real Madrid's manager. Barcelona extend their La Liga lead to 14 points above Real Madrid, thanks to goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal.
It may only be December but Barcelona have one hand on the La Liga title after romping to a 3-0 win at 10-man Real Madrid on Saturday. Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal got the goals as Barca moved 14 points clear of Zinedine Zidane's Madrid, who had Dani Carvajal sent off for handling the ball on the line.
The three points move Barca nine points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, too, and even if Valencia beat Villarreal this weekend they will still go into 2018 with an eight-point lead at the top of the table.
Positives
The positives are obvious. Barcelona are now 25 games unbeaten in all competitions and have left their biggest rivals with a mountain to climb in the title race. Ernesto Valverde and his players will try not to get too excited but it will take something special for them to throw away La Liga after this win at the Santiago Bernabeu.
This win also came without Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele, who will both return in the new year, while the individual performances from Messi, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique show there's plenty of life in the old guard yet.
Negatives
Negatives from a 3-0 win at the Bernabeu?
Manager rating (out of 10)
8 -- Valverde kept things safe in the first half and then instructed his players to ramp things up after the break. It worked perfectly, with Barca killing the game off in the early stages of the second half.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 8 -- Once again showed his importance to the side with a brilliant save from Cristiano Ronaldo in the first half. Made several important stops, including one from Gareth Bale, at 2-0 as well. Madrid's high press meant he was forced to go long more than he would have liked, too.
DF Sergi Roberto, 7 -- Struggled at times against the double threat of Ronaldo and Marcelo but was a willing ball carrier on the right flank in attack. Got forward to set up the opening goal with a measured pass for Suarez.
DF Gerard Pique, 9 -- A dominant display from the Catalan defender, which hasn't always been the case this season. Colossal in defence and as he often is in the big games, he was desperate to drive forward and join in attacks.
DF Thomas Vermaelen, 7 -- Good in the air but looked a weak link early on in his first (perhaps unexpected) Clasico. Booked for a foul on Luka Modric and caught out of position a couple of times in the first half. Grew into the game, though, and produced one important block after the break.
DF Jordi Alba, 7 -- Pinned back by Dani Carvajal in the first half but found more space in the second half and was able to neuter the Madrid threat on the right. Gerard Pique turned in one of his best performances of the season as Barca routed Real Madrid.
MF Sergio Busquets, 7 -- A millisecond off the pace in the first half and gave away the ball uncharacteristically. Made up for that by leading Madrid on a merry dance in the build up to Suarez's goal.
MF Ivan Rakitic, 7 -- His role under Valverde is sometimes more defensive than he would perhaps like but he joined the attack to create the first goal. Picking up Busquets' pass, he used the space left by Madrid's attention to Messi to feed Roberto on the right.
MF Andres Iniesta, 8 -- A vintage performance from the player whom Valverde says inspires respect and fear among the opposition. Luka Modric has been widely considered the best central midfielder in Spain in recent years but Iniesta bettered him here with his grace on the ball and his eye for a pass.
MF Paulinho 7 -- Once again, the Brazil international one of Barca's biggest goal threats. Drew two good saves from Keylor Navas in the first half and it was his effort which was handed on the line by Carvajal.
FW Lionel Messi, 8 -- Added another Bernabeu goal, albeit from the penalty spot. He has now scored 15 goals at Madrid's home in 19 visits and has 15 goals in La Liga this season. Was a clever performance more than an especially dominant one, though, using his lack of space to create space for others. Also set up Vidal's stoppage-time goal.
FW Luis Suarez, 7 -- The Uruguay international's October goal drought seems a long time ago. He now has seven goals in his last six league games and opened the scoring with a typically well-taken finish. Also hit the post and drew a couple of saves from Navas.
Substitutes
DF Nelson Semedo, NR -- Introduced for the tiring Iniesta to allow Roberto to push into midfield. Almost scored, too, but Navas deflected his effort behind for a corner.
MF Andre Gomes, NR -- Came on for Paulinho with the game already up, blazing one late chance over.
MF Aleix Vidal, NR -- Only came on for a few minutes but joined in the party, his late strike sneaking under Navas.
Samuel Marsden covers Barcelona for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @SamuelMarsden.
Comments
Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.
Source: espn.co.uk