“Seven goals, three penalties, a Lionel Messi hat-trick, a red card for Sergio Ramos and three points for Barcelona. This was a classic clasico, full of attacking verve, controversy and incident, and it leaves the Spanish title race closer than ever after a 4-3 Barcelona win over Real Madrid. Atletico and Real Madrid head the table on 70 points, with Barcelona just one further back after Sunday’s game. By completing the double over the their greatest rivals, Barcelona’s Gerardo Martino has gleaned at least something in what is likely to be his only season as manager. And yet, exciting as it was, full of twists and turns including four lead changes, the defending was an asterisk on an otherwise memorable game. The harum-scarum nature of the game, the excellence of some of the attacking play, the sense of the stakes involved, made it thoroughly gripping, but the fact is that much of the defending was suspect.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Barcelona and Real Madrid produce the clásico of the century
“As one former Barcelona player puts it: ‘It is the game of the century, even if there are eight of them a year.’ It is a comment not just on the excellence and the expectation that comes with Real Madrid v Barcelona but also on their eclipse of all else, on the dominance and potential dilution of a rivalry in which they have played each other 19 times in the last four seasons and will meet at least once more this and in which they alone account for over 60% of Spanish football fans and millions more round the world; on the pressure, the power and the politics; on the way every meeting appears to end eras and close cycles, epochs defined in a day; and on the impossibility of ever living up to the hype.” Guardian

Show Your Neck to Dracula! Barça–Real Madrid Play a Clásico for the Ages
“I have never seen a Greco-Roman wrestling match between a ballistic missile and the world’s most prolific knitter of blankets, but I imagine it looks something like yesterday’s El Clásico, a.k.a. Wichita State–Kentucky, Except Everyone’s Getting Paid, a.k.a. WHY CAN’T I STOP MYSELF FROM SCREAMING IN LATIN?” Grantland (Video)

Barcelona’s thrilling 4-3 win in Sunday’s El Clasico
“Barcelona breathed new life into their La Liga title hopes as a Lionel Messi hat-trick helped fire them to victory in a thrilling match at 10-man Real Madrid. Andres Iniesta shot into the top corner before Karim Benzema’s brace put Real ahead. Messi restored parity soon after but Cristiano Ronaldo restored Real’s lead from the penalty spot. After Sergio Ramos was sent off, Messi won the game with two penalties.” BBC

“When Martino strolled into the Camp Nou for the seventh time this season, the Argentinian was welcomed to 98,000 fans planted into their seats eagerly awaiting one of the most anticipated games of the year in which many neutrals would happily see the two giants contesting each other in the Champions League Final. An even more intriguing game rose when the line ups were revealed, with Sergio Ramos situated in Midfield, Lionel Messi on the right and even Javier Mascherano swapped to RCB, to contest Cristiano Ronaldo in transitions, which we will get more into detail later.” Think Football

“FC Barcelona defeated Real Madrid by a 2-1 score line in the first El Clásico of the 2013-14 season. Neymar shined as he grabbed a goal in his Clásico debut. Alexis Sanchez made the Camp Nou jump for joy with his golazo in the 78th minute. Jesé got a late goal for Los Blancos, but it was too late as Tata Martino’s team are now six points up on Los Blancos in the La Liga standings.” Barca Blaugranes

Ten keys to Barca’s Clasico win
“Although Saturday’s clasico was not the greatest of spectacles — ultimately, it was a more tactical and less petty contest than recent ones — it served to give Barca an important three points, doubling their lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. Here are 10 key factors to Barca’s victory.” ESPN (Video)

Barcelona manager Tata Martino takes first blood in Clasico
“Saturday’s managerial clash of Clasico debutants ended decisively in favour of Barcelona’s Tata Martino, with Carlo Ancelotti now facing a rough ride from the Madrid media following Real’s deserved 2-1 defeat at the Nou Camp. Goals from Neymar and Alexis Sanchez ensured Jese Rodriguez’s late strike was irrelevant. Before the game, Ancelotti was the man with the biggest decisions to make. His team had been winning but playing poorly, and there were clear deficiencies to address in a number of areas on the pitch.” BBC

Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid: Tactical Analysis
“Despite the Premier League being the ‘global league’ in terms of visibility and a hold on the football market in numerous countries, there’s one game that supersedes all of the Premier League games. That of course is none other than ‘El Clasico’, the highly charged game between Barcelona and Real Madrid. From severed pig heads to eye pokes (yes Mourinho, we still remember that one) this fixture has a knack of producing high and sometimes downright bizarre drama. In between all the political undercurrents of this fixture, there is some scarily good football that is on show when the 2 sides battle it out.” Outside of the Boot

A heat map showing Mesut Ozil’s touches in La Liga during his three seasons at Real Madrid.
“In modern football, the vast majority of top-class European clubs agree on the basic principles of attacking play. It’s extremely rare to see a half-decent side knock a long ball from defence, and it’s become increasingly uncommon to witness relentless crossing from wide. Instead, top-level football is about short passing, through-balls, and exploiting pockets of space either side of the opposition defence. There are certain qualities you unquestionably require to play this way: patient midfield passers to initiate the buildup, incisive creators capable of penetration and quick forwards who can sprint beyond defences.” ESPN – Michael Cox (Video)

“The 2012/13 La Liga season saw Real Madrid’s title defence overwhelmed by a devastating Barcelona outfit, with the Catalan giants losing just two matches and going agonisingly close to breaking their rivals’ record points tally of 100. Atletico Madrid put up a fight for much of the season but were forced to settle for third, and it is hard to go past the stars of the top three teams as we select the best starting XI from across Spain.” ESPN

“When Jose Mourinho arrived at Real Madrid in the Summer of 2010, I – like all Madridistas – was full of optimism and hope. Mourinho arrived in Madrid off the back of an unprecedented treble at Inter, completed in the Bernabeu no less, when he lead Inter to their first European Cup since 1965. This would be the man that would end the dominance of Barcelona. The side that had won two league titles and a European Cup since Madrid last lifted any silverware. This period also included four straight defeats to Barça and, especially after the return of Florentino Perez and his ‘Galactico’ policy, this wasn’t easy to take.” Think Football

“Barcelona suffered their second major defeat within the space of a week, and Real are through to the Copa del Rey final. Jordi Roura brought in Jose Pinto for Victor Valdes in goal – as always in this competition. The rest of the side was the same as against Milan with both Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta in the side, despite David Villa’s impact against Sevilla at the weekend. Jose Mourinho chose Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos at centre-back, with Pepe on the bench. Gonzalo Higuain, as expected, started upfront. Real outplayed Barcelona. Their defensive shape was good, their breaks were typically direct and efficient. 3-1 didn’t flatter them.” Zonal Marking

Xavi is wrong: Barça have lost far more than the least important title
“Xabi Alonso took up his favourite position at the Camp Nou, easing into a seat in the stands and looking silently out across the pitch, feet up, job done. It was some time after Real Madrid had won the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg 3-1 against Barcelona, the clock ticking towards midnight, and the Camp Nou was quiet. The stadium had been emptying for a while, ever since Raphaël Varane headed Real Madrid’s third; by the time Jordi Alba scored Barcelona’s only goal in the 88th minute, there were not that many fans left to celebrate and those that were still there did not much feel like doing so.” Guardian

“Real pressed effectively in the first half, but Barcelona exerted their dominance after the break. With various absences, Jose Mourinho was forced to name a makeshift backline – Ricardo Carvalho played alongside Rafael Varane, Alvaro Arbeloa had to play left-back, so Michael Essien deputised on the right. New signing Diego Lopez started in goal, Jose Callejon was in for the suspended Angel Di Maria, and Kairm Benezema got the nod upfront.” Zonal Marking

Real Madrid claw back Barcelona thanks to Raphaël Varane’s late header
“In a clásico in which Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo did not score for once, the game’s biggest moment came from a 19-year-old defender who was included in the side because of injury and suspension. Raphaël Varane, who started in the absence of Sergio Ramos and Pepe, capped a colossal performance with a second-half header that equalised Cesc Fábregas’s opener and left the Copa del Rey semi-final poised at 1-1. Barcelona take an away goal; Madrid will feel that they too can get one in the second leg in a month’s time.” Guardian