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The great shock of the Spanish championship between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid saw the two teams separate with a goalless draw on Wednesday 18 December. No winner but many opportunities in a "Clasico" marked also by expressions of mistrust and violence against the backdrop of an independence crisis in Catalonia.
Originally scheduled for October 26 but postponed due to the protests of pro-independence Catalans , the famous "Clasico" between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid was held on Wednesday, December 18. A shock, as always between the two rivals, with one more a real sporting stake, Barça and Real sharing the head of La Liga with 35 points (goal difference of +23 for the Barcelonians against +21 for the Madrilenians) . But this late meeting of the 10th day of Liga also had a political flavor.
" Spain, sit down and dialogue ", demand the Catalan demonstrators
The Catalan separatists, gathered on the “Democratic Tsunami” platform, had called for their demands to be heard again during this Barça-Real, a symbol of their distrust of Spanish power. Even before the start of the meeting, hundreds of demonstrators had blocked traffic around Camp Nou. For this match classified as "high risk", more than 3,000 security agents and police were mobilized.
In the spans of the Barça stadium, the tone and colors were given. Lots of yellow and red of course, like on the Catalan flag. "Spain, sit down and talk", launched a banner displayed by Blaugrana fans. "Freedom," they also chanted.
At the 55th minute, the referee had to interrupt the meeting for a few moments, the time to evacuate from the lawn tens of beach balls launched from the stands by supporters who wanted, in this way, to protest against the rubber balls fired by the police against the demonstrators. Outside, the situation has worsened, with clashes between the police and independence.
Real miss good opportunity to head La Liga
And on the field, sporting side? The Spanish champions were jostled by the people of Madrid. Deprived of Sergio Busquets but with a Messi-Suarez-Griezmann trident, Barça needed an intervention from Gerard Piqué on the goal line to prevent Casemiro from opening the scoring head (17th). Later, it was Real who had cold sweats, but Sergio Ramos, the most capped new player in the history of "Clasico" (43 games now), also repelled a ball from Lionel Messi who was about to enter the cage (30th).
With a very good organization high on the field and a conquering midfielder like Federico Valverde, Real held the candle high and dominated the debates. Barça tried to rebel after the break, but it was the Merengues who almost made the difference. In the 72nd, Gareth Bale opened the scoring, but his goal was canceled for a limited offside by ferryman Ferland Mendy.
In a tense meeting at the end with a total of eight yellow cards distributed, neither of the two teams was able to bring the piece down on its side. Uninspired, FC Barcelona suffered and can consider themselves happy to concede this goalless draw (0-0). A 0-0 between the two Spanish giants, it had not happened in 17 years. " We can feel frustrated, but hey it's football, " said Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid coach, at the microphone of BeIN Sports.