Barcelona made significant investments in their squad over the summer, but the major spending spree isn’t giving the result the Catalan club hoped for ahead of the 2022-23 season. After a draw with Inter Milan left them without almost any chance to get out of the UEFA Champions League group stage, Barca also relinquished the top of La Liga by suffering a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in Sunday’s El Clasico.
Real took a methodic approach to the game, playing patiently and willingly relinquishing the possession to Barca. At the same time, they were clinical in front of the goal, using most of their scoring chances.
French striker Karim Benzema gave Real an early lead in the 12th minute, while Uruguayan winger Federico Valverde made it 2-0 toward the end of the first half.
While Real was scoring goals, Barca struggled to adjust to the flow of the game. It seems like nothing they tried worked, with the experienced Real midfield and compact defense not leaving them much to work with. Barca had 18 shots on goal, but most of them were desperate attempts to make something out of nothing.
Barcelona did manage to get on the scoreboard in the 83rd minute, but this wasn’t a start of a comeback. Instead, Real finished the job in extra time via Rodrygo’s goal from a penalty kick.
With the win, Real Madrid has 25 points and has jumped over Barca to take the top of La Liga standings. Barcelona is second with 23 points, followed by Atletico Madrid, Real Betis, and Real Sociedad, who all have 19 points apiece.
