Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2013 El Clasico: Raphaēl Varane continues to be amazing
Real Madrid put Barcelona under pressure right out of the locker room earning a dangerous free kick outside the Barca area. Luka Modric sent the ball into the center of the box but Pepe was beaten in the air and Barcelona cleared the danger.
There was a bit of a controversial moment in the 50th minute after Lionel Messi found Pedro with a splendid long ball as he ran one-on-one with Raphaël Varane. The defender blocked Pedro off the ball with a fine tackle but the linesman waved his flag and the referee awarded Barca the free kick. As if realizing it wasn't the best decision the referee called a foul on Barca on the ensuing set piece and nothing came of the situation.
The match's first yellow card appeared in the 51st minute after Sergio Ramos committed an intentional handball. For El Clasico, that's a pretty long wait for someone to go in the book.
Varane was on his game again in the 56th minute after Messi found David Villa racing into the Madrid area. For a second it look like Villa would be free on goal but Varane closed the gap and made another great tackle to prevent the chance.
For the third straight Clasico match, Varane is putting on a defensive show. Now we just have to see if he can score in his third straight derby as well.
