5 biggest winners and losers in El Clasicos since the 2000s
El Clásico is the name given to the matches played between eternal rivals Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona.
Other than the final of the UEFA Champions League, it is considered as one of the biggest club football games because of the intensity born out of a clash of ideologies and is among the most viewed sporting events around the world.
Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain that are linked with opposing political views, Los Blancos are viewed as the embodiment of Spanish nationalism whereas the Blaugranas are viewed as a beacon of Catalan nationalism which reflects on the pitch.
The rivalry between the two of the largest clubs in the world is regarded as one of the biggest and the bitterest across all sporting platforms. These clubs are two of the richest and most successful football clubs in the world.
Over the turn of the century, we have seen some Clasicos that have enthralled the audience.
We look at the winners and losers from 5 such Clasicos played in the league:
#5 Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona (2015/16)
Winner - Andres Iniesta
Andres Iniesta was captain for the Blaugrana at the Santiago Bernabeu and he remained in charge of the proceedings. He was exceptional while in possession, helped change the tempo at the correct time and also scored a goal, drilling a shot into the top-right corner from outside the box after a clever Neymar Jr. backheel.
Kroos and Modric were not able to get close to him. He rarely lost possession while in play and his movement in between the lines was as impressive as ever while his ability to create space for his teammates made Madrid bleed whenever they lost possession.
Fittingly, Iniesta was applauded by the Bernabeu crowd while also getting a standing ovation, a gesture only reserved for Maradona and Ronaldinho.
Loser - Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez went back to the formation that he started the season with, a 4-2-3-1 in possession with Bale playing the No. 10 role behind Benzema, but with most of his star-studded lineup lacking match fitness, the tactic didn't pay off at all.
Barcelona's brilliant tactics and technical ability meant that the side from Catalonia swamped Los Blancos in midfield and without Casemiro in the starting lineup doing his job, it was way easy for the rival team to continuously win back the ball.
Benitez tried to stir things up in the second half when Isco came on, but there was no concrete change in approach regarding how the team attacked or defended, and Real never really came back into the game.
The game ultimately led to his sacking after a few weeks.