Barcelona showed their strength before the start of the season. The Catalans beat Real Madrid 1-0 in this year’s first El Clasico at the end of a friendly match.
Brazilian winger Rafinha, signed this month from Leeds United, scored the only goal in the match in Las Vegas. In the 27th minute, Real star Militao gave the ball to Rafinha while clearing the ball. Given the opportunity, he shook the net with a spectacular strike from outside the box.
Marco Asensio missed the best chance for Madrid. Hit the ball far outside the target. Thiba Courtois also made several saves and did not let the margin of defeat widen. Even after that, Barcelona, with new stars in the team, dominated in front of 61 thousand 299 spectators. It is not that temporary tension did not spread in this traditional duel. Incidents of fighting and pushing have also occurred.
Robert Lewandowski, who was introduced on Wednesday, made his debut in the starting XI. Rafinha and Andreas Christensen were with him.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, were without Karim Benzema. As a result, Eden Hazard led the attack. New arrivals Rudiger and Chuameni also got a chance to attack. After that, Real Madrid couldn’t put a single shot on target against Barca’s attack.
Lewandowski scored his first goal in the 11th minute of his debut. But the Real goalkeeper blocked his quick shot in the near net.
Both teams took turns fielding players. Xavi made 5 Barça changes after the first half. There Real Madrid brought 6.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti highlighted Benzema’s absence after the loss, ‘Benzema is one of the best players in the world. His absence definitely means something special is missing here.’
