El Clasico, Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid: Full Time Player Ratings

In truth, little has changed since the end of the first half. Yes, Barcelona added three goals, making this the most lopsided Clasico win Barça’s ever enjoyed, but the match was over once we saw Real Madrid set up their line of three midfielders in front of the defense. A halftime adjustment from Pep Guardiola to start exploiting Madrid’s high line was the last chapter. We already knew the ending.

Now, some post-mortem. As with all player ratings, many of these will be outright wrong - evaluations which, once I watch the match again, I’ll admit were way off-base. So, if you feel something’s missing, let us know in the comments.

Barcelona

Victor Valdes, 7 - Good work in the first half will be forgotten after he had nothing to do in the second. While I’m sure he took one, I barely remember him having to take a goal kick in the second period. Barcelona was dominant, giving Valdes the day off.

Daniel Alves, 6 - Some crosses came in from his side in the first half, but over the course of 90 minutes, things evened out. A good effort from Ángel Di Maria kept him quiet, but Alves deserves some credit for being a player Mourinho had to devote one of his stars to.

Carles Puyol, 7 - Another solid day for the man Sid Lowe calls Captain Caveman, though his intensity was such that he would have been able to respond had more been asked of him.

Gerard Pique, 6 - Little to go for the young center back, though was in decent position on the few crosses that tested the defense in the first half.

Eric Abidal, 6 - A good return for the left back, who fits the same profile as his teammates. They kept the play in front of them and made it an easy day for their goalkeeper.

Sergio Busquets, 6 - And this is how you know that Real Madrid was off their game. Busquets gets a similar description and rating as the defenders behind him. Xavi and Andrés Iniesta controlled the middle of the pitch such that Busquets had vey little to do. Madrid’s possessions usually involved attacking wide, leaving Busquets a quite Clasico.

Andres Iniesta, 8 - The midfielder was the driving force in the first half, and it’s a shame his name isn’t on the scoresheet. People will remember Messi picking apart the Madrid line in the second half, but they should also remember the laser pass to Xavi for the first goal.

Xavi, 8 - Another stellar performance stoking the flames for the Blaugrana, though like Iniesta, he was most needed in the first half. Then, he helped carry the team, scoring the first goal and providing a crucial ball in the build-up to the second.

Pedro, 6 - Aside from his goal, Pedro had little impact, and the goal was a large part David Villa’s doing. Ultimately a decent match. Getting a goal in a Clasico certainly overshadows any rating some shmuck’s gonna give ya’.

Lionel Messi, 8 - Was more decoy than distributor in the first half, but was the best player on the pitch in the second, vital to the changes Guardiola made to exploit Madrid’s high back line. Within the second half’s first ten minutes he had created four chances, two of which lead to Villa’s goals.

David Villa, 9 - Robbie Mustoe, on the commentary, said (at one point) Villa was having a quiet game. I suppose I disagreed then, and in fairness to Mustoe, he certainly wouldn’t repeat that evaluation after Villa’s brace. But even in the first half, Villa was active. His run opened up the center of the box for Xavi’s goal, while he broke down Sergio Ramos to assist on Pedro’s.

Substitutes: Bojan Krkic (76’) N/A, Jeffren (87’) N/A, Seydou Keita (87’) N/A

Real Madrid

Iker Casillas, 5 - I feel like this is generous. He could have done better on the second goal. Perhaps he should have been more decisive on the first, and maybe the last two another goalkeeper could have stopped. I don’t know, though. It sure didn’t seem like Casillas was the problem. At the same time, there are some goalkeepers that would have done better, and ultimately he’s on the wrong end of a 5-0.

Sergio Ramos, 2 - Horrible second half. Was lazy on the last goal, saw Villa run through the channel to his left on the fourth. Spent most of the half chopping down Barça players, and thanks to his red card, he’ll miss at least the next match. Represented his team poorly today.

Pepe, 5 - Of all the players hurt by José Mourinho’s insistence on playing a high line, Pepe seemed to be singled out. That’s not exactly his preferred way to play, and while he made a couple of nice tackles recovering in the first half, he - like his partners - were part of the problem.

Ricardo Carvalho, 4 - Before the game we identified decisions made by Carvalho and Pepe as a key part of the match. The pair obviously didn’t do well, and it was Carvalho and Marcelo on the left side that were most readily exploited in the second half, when Guardiola moved Messi back out right to receive the ball and cut-back across the face of the defense. For a 10 minute stretch, Messi was constantly able to find space to the left, right, and behind Carvalho.

Marcelo, 2 - Poor “weak side” defense in the first half got worse after intermission, when he was ineffectual against the flood Guardiola through at him on the attack’s right flank. Eventually had to be subbed-off for Álvaro Arbeloa. Two might be a bit harsh upon examination, but just minutes removed from the match, it feels like Marcelo was both targeted and exploited.

Sami Khedira, 3 - Halfway through the first period, we asked where the Madrid midfield had gone. We never found out because they never really showed up. Khedira, in a left-central midfield role in the second half, provided no resistance after Barcelona adjusted and started cutting in from the right flank.

Xabi Alonso, 4 - Similar to Khedira bit less culpable in the second half. It was disappointing to see him crashing into Messi once the score got lopsided. None of his passing prowess was evident today, but unlike some of his teammates, he had the “virtue” of being anonymous.

Mesut Ozil, 3 - Same as the first half. Before the breakdowns at the back, he was the most disappointing Merengue. He looked completely overwhelmed. Had he played that way again in the second half, he would have gotten a 2.

Ángel Di Maria, 7 - Did a very good job defensively today in a non-critical defending role. Had the back line given an equivalent performance, they may have kept Barcelona to one or two goals. But, that’s not how soccer matches work. As such, Di Maria was one of two Real Madrid players that gave a decent shift.

Karim Benzema, 5 - All of the work José Mourinho has done to reclaim Karim Benzema - work that was paying-off in the weeks leading to this match - may have been undone today. Benzema was in the vicinity of a couple of first half crosses, but he was a non-factor in the second half. Madrid missed Gonzalo Higuain.

Cristiano Ronaldo, 6 - The effort dipped in the second half, but who could blame him. The guy worked hard in the first half and created a number of half-chances, but Madrid just wasn’t seeing enough of the ball, and after they gave up two goals early in the second, he understandably got discouraged.

Substitutes: Lassana Diarra (46’) 4, Alvaro Arbeloa (60’) 6