October 24, (THEWILL) – In a different El Clasico that had lost most of the shine that made the high-profile clash between two La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid a star attraction, David Alaba became only the fifth player to score in their first clasico appearance, opening the scoring before Lucas Vázquez put the game away at the Camp Nou against bitter rivals Barcelona.
In response, the hosts’ Sergio Agüero scored in the final seconds to also match Alaba’s record of finding the net in his first El Clasico appearance.
Ronald Koeman’s side got off to a good start, showing great intensity in midfield to overwhelm their opponents’ usual operators in the midfield, and should have gone ahead after 25 minutes when an unmarked Sergino Dest blazed over the bar from close range.
But, Koeman was dealt yet more misery by the flying Austrian, Alaba, who launched a quick counterattack from just outside his own area before hurtling forward on the left flank.
Rodrygo received a cross-field ball in the home half and instead of allowing Karim Benzema to overlap to his right, found Alaba in plenty of space on the left, where he smashed a clean left-footed strike past Barca goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen.
The two teams were evenly matched in spans of time in the second period with both seeing periods of control and squandered opportunities. In the 94th minute, another counter attack sealed the result. It was a Real counter that ended with Vazquez pouncing on a rebound from close range after Marco Asensio forced Ter Stegen into a fine save four minutes into stoppage time.
Aguero reduced his side’s deficit shortly before the final whistle, converting a Sergio Dest cross.
Real is now level on points with Sevilla and Real Sociedad at the top of La Liga.
Sociedad, on the other hand, has a chance to reclaim first place in the league when they play joint fifth-placed defending champions Atletico Madrid in the league’s late game on Sunday.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are in eighth place and could finish the weekend in ninth if Real Betis wins the 5:30 pm kickoff against Rayo Vallecano. It will only make matters worse for Koeman who becomes the first manager to lose his first three straight Clasicos in the modern era.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
