El Clasico Fizzles Out To A Draw & Marred By Protester Violence
Real Madrid outplayedBarcelona for large parts of Wednesday’s La Liga clash but were unable to make their dominance count and the ‘Clasico’ ended goalless to leave the Catalans top of the standings on goal difference in a match overshadowed by violent clashes between Catalan independence protestors and police outside Camp Nou.
It was a match that had such tension around it – and outside it.
It was not exactly a Clasico that will go down in history, but it did make a bit of unwanted history.
This was the first goalless draw in the league between Barcelona and Real Madrid since 2002, and just the second in the last 30 years.
Barca looked short of ideas, with Lionel Messi being their only source of inspiration.
The Argentine could have broken the deadlock in the first half but Real captain Sergio Ramos slid to the floor to block his goal-bound shot.
Ramos played in his 43rd Clasico, a record for any player in history.
After being postponed in October, there were renewed fears of unrest around Spain’s most famous fixture and while the match was only briefly interrupted by yellow beach balls thrown onto the pitch, outside the stadium, chaos ensued.
Forty-six people were lightly injured in the clashes, including eight who needed to be taken to a medical centre for extra care, local emergency services said.
Five people were arrested, according to a police spokesman.
By Gerald Dandah
