Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, El Clásico final score: 1-1 draw as Sergio Ramos saves the day for Los Merengues

Real Madrid did not bring their best to El Clásico on Saturday. Without Toni Kroos and Gareth Bale, they could hardly be expected to. But they did enough to get the result against Barcelona, as Luka Modrić and Sergio Ramos turned in spectacular performances to help their team snatch a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou.

Luis Suárez opened the scoring, but Modrić and Ramos connected for a stoppage-time equalizer to break Barca fans’ hearts.

The first half was cagey, with neither team looking willing to take too many risks. Still, the attacking quality in each team meant that they were able to generate some good half-chances, even when they didn’t have the numbers. Cristiano Ronaldo had a couple of shots saved in the final 10 minutes of the first half, while Barca were frustrated by the multiple blocks the Madrid back line was able to make.

Madrid got off to the stronger start in the first half, but it was Barca that found the scoreboard first, in the 54th minute. After Raphäel Varane fouled Neymar on the left flank, the Brazilian stepped up to take the free kick himself. He delivered a perfect ball to the edge of the six-yard box, where Suárez outmuscled Varane and headed past Keylor Navas.

Neymar should have doubled Barca’s lead in the 68th minute but couldn’t find the back of the net. He juked Dani Carvajal out of his shoes, setting himself up for a wide-open shot from 12 yards, but somehow hit the ball well over the crossbar. Messi had a similar chance in the 82nd minute off a great through-ball by substitute Andres Iniesta, but pulled his effort wide.

Madrid pushed everyone forward in the dying minutes and looked like they’d never get a lucky break. Ramos headed over in the 87th minute, and Ronaldo had a header cleared off the line shortly afterward as Barca’s defense held firm. But Ramos finally connected perfectly with a shot in the 92nd minute, heading a Modrić free kick into the back of the net.

Barca almost found a winner with the last play of the game, with Lionel Messi heading on goal, but Casemiro cleared off the line to preserve a point for Madrid.

Goals: Ramos (90’)

Goals: Suarez (54’)

Raphäel Varane’s day went from excellent to awful very quickly

For the first 53 minutes of El Clásico, Varane was one of the best players on the pitch. Then he gave away a dangerous free kick by fouling Neymar, and on that subsequent free kick, got badly outmuscled by Suárez for the opening goal. The life of defenders is rough. No one will remember Suárez’s first half errors, and no one will remember Varane’s flawless first half either.

Luka Modric and Sergio Busquets stole the show

With Casemiro still working his way back to fitness and Kroos out, Modrić had a very difficult job in the heart of Madrid’s team. He was asked to be the team’s main defensive midfielder and deep playmaker, and he performed both jobs to near perfection. Barcelona had a very hard time working the ball into the central area right in front of the 18-yard box, and that was mostly down to Modrić’s excellent defense. In addition to winning the ball in challenges with Barca players six times and making three interceptions, he also completed 95 percent of his passes.

And Modrić was matched by his counterpart in a bluagrana shirt, Busquets.

Often heralded as the best single pivot player in the world, Busquets has had an inexplicably average season, leading to some disappointing results for Barca. But the old Busquets showed up on the big stage for this game, preventing Isco and Karim Benzema from getting the ball in dangerous spots while starting Barcelona’s attacks with excellent passing.

This game wasn’t lacking in pretty play and big chances because of poor attacking play, but because of truly exceptional defensive midfield play. Having a game where the two best players are defensive midfielders doesn’t exactly make for scintillating soccer, but these players made El Clásico a high-quality affair.

Madrid has some breathing room in La Liga

Away from home, without Bale and Kroos, a draw is an excellent result for Madrid. They also entered this game six points clear of Barca in the table, and they did enough to maintain that advantage. It’s not a massive lead, but in a league where the big teams go on 10-plus game winning streaks every year, it’s big enough to make Los Merengues big favorites for the title.