A 'Three'-ling day of Football

5 out of 6 Premier fixtures saw homeside score 3 goals against there opponents as the day turned out to be obsessive with the number 3.
In LaLiga Santander, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Real Sociedad also hit 3 goals each.

It all started with Watford vs Everton in the Premier League at Vicarage Road.

A struggling Everton side was up against Watford. After going a down by a Romelu Lukaku goal, Watford replied strongly with 3 goals and thus took the game out of Everton's reach.

A late Romelu Lukaku second saw some hope for the Merseysides but Watford held their nerves and ran out a 3-2 winners.

Arsenal vs Stoke City also saw a scoreline which included 3.

Arsenal started the game dominantly as they played around the ball comfortably in the Stoke's half, but it was Stole City who drew first blood.

A penalty was awarded to Stoke after Granit Xhaka appeared to have deliberately elbowed Joe Allen on his face while defending and thus leaving referee with no choice. It looked a cynical foul but Xhaka was lucky not be sent off.

CharlieAdam on his birthday, gifted himself and the team with well taken penalty, sending Peter Cech the wrong way. Arsenal were behind as the clock hit the 30 minute mark.

Arsenal had to reply back and they didso, with a brilliant Arsenal link-up play as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain released Hector Bellerin on the right with a piercing pass, who crossed it inside the box for a Theo Walcottt finish at the near post with the outside of his boot.
Arsenal grabbed the equalizer before halftime.

In the second half, a brilliant lofted cross by Oxlade-Chamberlain into the heart of penalty area found Mesut Ozil all alone as he headed a beautiful looping header into the goal to give Arsenal the lead with 50 minutes on the clock.

Stoke City had their chances with Peter Crouch coming closest as he was brought in as a substitute. He would have scored with his first touch from the corner but it was parried away Peter Cech.

Minutes later, Arsenal got their 3rd, as another substitute Alex Iwobi, ran into the box after Alexis Sanchez was fouled just outside the box. The ball fell onto the path of Iwobi as the referee played the advantage and he finished a low shot into the right corner giving goalkeeper no chance.

A 3 goals and 3 points for Arsenal as they move to the top of Premier League for the time being.

Another 6 goals thriller was witnessed at KCOM stadium where Hull and Crystal Palace hit 3 goals each.

Hull City took the lead after a penalty was awarded but it appeared out to be horrible decision by referee as the replay showed a no contact and a clear dive by the Robert Snodgrass. But Hull City grabbed the opportunity with both hands as Snodgrass gave the Tigers the lead.

Crystal Palace came back strong and equalised with a Christian Benteke penalty. Karma played some role as Snodgrass brought down Wilfried Zaha in the box and Benteke rolled the ball home to level the score.

Zaha gave Palace the lead in the 70th minute with a tremendous effort into the roof of the net.
The lead lasted for just 2 minutes as Hull City stored the parity with Adam Diomande who showed some great feet in the box.

Hull were back in lead in the 78th minute with Snodgrass and Livermore combining as Crystal Palace were stunned.

But Palace didn't give up and got their equalizer again and Wilfried Zaha was the architect as he sends a beautiful cross onto the head of substitute Frazier Campbell.

The game ended 3-3.

Burnley also hit 3 goals against Bournemouth as Jeff Hendrick stunner was the goal of the game.

After going down by 2 goals inside the first 20 minutes, Bournemouth had no other option but to reply back. They did so just before halftime when Benik Afoebe pulled one back.

In the second half Burnley scored their 3rd with George Boyd as Bournemouth only found a late goal through Charlie Daniels to make scoreline look a bit respectable.

Swansea City also hit 3 goals against Sunderland in the bottom of the table clash.

The battle of relegation took place in Liberty stadium as Swansea and Sunderland went head to head.

Sunderland last week defeated the champions Leicester City and hoped for another win against struggling Swansea City.

But the 3 goals in second half sealed a win for the Swansea City as Sunderland moved to the bottom of the table and Swansea City pulled out of the bottom three. It was just third win of the season for the Swans.

A Jamie Vardy treble inspired Leicester City to a 4-2 win against Manchester City

The game of the night took place at King Power stadium. Leicester City had struggled this season and couldn't find their rhythm, but against they seemed to have found the lost touch as Jamie Vardy and Andy King scored goals inside first 5 minutes to stun Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

It looked like the champions reinvigorated their lost spirit and put up a goal feast. Jamie Vardy grabbed his 2nd from a brilliant counterattack as Riyad Mahrez provided an assist.

City were 3-0 down at halftime.

In the second half, City were punished again by Vardy for their sloppy defending as Vardy hit his 3rd of the night.

City got two late goals as consolation but it was Jamie Vardy's night all the way. As the champions found their lost touch in the night when it mattered. 

City remained at 4th place in the table.

In LaLiga Santander, Barcelona ran out 3-0 winners away against Osasuna. Luis Suarez opened the scoring before a Leo Messi double sealed 3 points for the Catalans.

Sergio Ramos is the saviour again

Real Madrid took lead through a brilliant strike from outside the box by Alvaro Morata in the 50th minute but Deportivo hit 2 goals in as many minutes through Joselu as Real Madrid were left trailing at the Bernabeu, with 67 minutes on the clock.
It was the last league game of the year for Real Madrid before they travel to Japan for the Club World Cup. A win was must for Los Blancos as they had to keep their six point cushion at the top.

Substitute Vasquez and Mariano combined to store the parity with 84 minutes on the clock. A deadly cross by Vasquez found Mariano's header as the youngster proved his worth in style.

Stage was set for Sergio Ramos as in the 93rd minute of the match, Toni Kroos' delivery from a corner found Ramos' header to win 3 points for Real Madrid as Cristiano Ronaldo watched from the private box.

It was an ecstatic moment and Real Madrid proved why they are on this unbeaten streak. It was an amazing header by Ramos almost inevitable.

3 points in the bag and the unbeaten streak is upto 35.

Real Sociedad won 3-2 against Valencia

Valencia went 2 goal down by at Anoeta but showed great spirit to fight back. Willian Jose grabbed a double in the first 25 minutes. But Valencia grabbed one back through Dani Parejo penalty. 

The second half was more pulsating as Carlos Vela missed a penalty totake the game away from Valencia. The dram continued as Joao Cancelo saw 2nd yellow in the 83rd minute to add misery to the Valencia.

Sociedad scored their 3rd in the 91st minute as the game was put to bed but Valencia grabbed one back in 94th minute as they showed great fighting spirit.

It ended 3-2 at Anoeta and Valencia are now 7 games without a win in LaLiga Santander. 

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Great gesture by FC Barcelona

Barcelona has shown a great gesture and proved why football is such a great sport.

They have invited Brazilian Football Club, Chapecoense to play a pre-season friendly match with them next summer which will be for Joan Gamper trophy.

It's been evident that, 71 people lost their lives in a plane crash including 19 players and staff of the Chapecoense team when they were traveling to Colombia to play first leg of Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional.

After the incident, whole footballing got together to show solidarity towards the victims families and the club.

In one such gesture, Barcelona want to help the club by offering to play a friendly.

The Match for Joan Gamper trophy is played every year between Barcelona and an invited team.

Barcelona said they wanted to make the Joan Gamper trophy "a great tribute to the world of football through various activities around this match".

"Along with the invitation to Chapecoense to the 2017 Joan Gamper Trophy, Barcelona would like to collaborate on the institutional and sporting reconstruction of the club, and help to recover the competitive level that it had," they added.

"Barcelona has today sent a formal letter of invitation to the current board of directors of Chapecoense."

Well, this tells us that why football is the most popular sport in the world.

The club and the people related to it will be needing more of such support to rebuild and its time every footballing body join hands to help them achieve this.

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"I'll underline the team's hard work" - Zinedine Zidane hails team spirit after El Clásico draw

Real Madrid scored a late equalizer to take away a point from the Camp Nou.

Sergio Ramos, the captain, rescued Los Blancos in the 90th minute as Barcelona managed to take the lead earlier in the 53rd minute.

It was a hard fought match and Zidane believed that it was not easy to come to Camp Nou and win.

Excerpts from the post match interview -

Speaking to the Real Madrid ​official website, the French legend said: “We have to highlight the spirit shown by this team yet again, the way we worked together and the belief we showed until the end to clinch this important point.

"I don't know whether or not [a draw is] fair, but it's the way it's gone. It's a point, we keep picking them up, and in the first half we had chances to hurt them.

"They scored their goal in the second half, we let up a bit and they grew in confidence. It's a point but it doesn't feel like a win. We can be very happy with how we played against a very tough opponent. Now we have to rest up because we've got another match in no time at all," Zidane continued.

He also emphasized on the fact that the title race is far from over and there is still long way to go.

"We've got a six-point advantage, but that won't change anything. This is a long-run thing and we have to work hard until the end. We're pleased with the point but we know that La Liga will be tough right to the finish.

“We can mix things up and we have a lot of different players who add something new within different tactical systems. That is the good thing about this team and today we saw the importance of each player. We are going to need all of these individuals right up until the end”.

Zidane also heaped praise on the captain and saviour of the match, Sergio Ramos.

"It was a real collective effort. It's not an easy place to come and we were under pressure, but it's difficult for anyone.

"I'll underline the team's hard work. At the end, as always, Ramos is there to score and I'm happy for him, and we've managed to get something thanks to our belief until the final moment.

“It doesn't surprise me anymore. It's the way he is. He's got real personality and you can always count on him in these game. He never lets his head drop and he's motivated until the final minute. It's great for us, Zidane concluded.

Zidane overtook Carlo Ancelotti's record of 32 games unbeaten streak with the draw.

Real Madrid play Borussia Dortmund next at Santiago Bernabeu for the top place finish.

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El Clásico - It ended all square at the Camp Nou

Sergio Ramos cancelled Luis Suarez opener in the dying moments and rescued a point for Real Madrid.

With this draw Real Madrid increased their winning run to 33 games and maintain six points lead over 2nd placed Barcelona.

The match had all the drama. An early penalty shout by Real Madrid denied by the referee, niggling fouls by both the teams, some nervy moments and of course the two headed goals.

As it all happened, both teams dominated either half of the game and in the end the draw was an apt result.

Real Madrid had fair number of chances in the first half and could have gone up but somehow it remained nil nil.

Barcelona took the lead under 10 minutes into the second half through Luis Suarez after Varane fouled Neymar on the left flank, after the goal they had 3-4 chances gone begging and ultimately paid the price, when Luka Modric's delivery found Sergio Ramos header who saved the day for Los Blancos.

Messi has now gone 6 Clásicos without finding the back of the net. He had a chance in this game but he dragged his shot wide. 

Barcelona needed a win to revitalize their dull season, however for Real Madrid it's job done as they would be happy to leave away with a point.

The draw keeps Los Blancos on top of the table and their streak intact.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

12 hours to the biggest game in club football- 12 facts to know

With the biggest game just 12 hours away. Read 12 facts about the El Clásico which every enthusiast should know.

Some records are in the sight for both teams and it will be a treat for football fans all around the world to witness them being broken or created tonight.

Barcelona have lost just three of the last 13 Clásicos they have played at home in all competitions (W7 D3). 

Real Madrid have won five of their last nine games aganst Barça in all competitions (L4), including their last trip to Camp Nou (1-2). 

Zinedine Zidane could become the first Real Madrid manager to enjoy consecutive wins in Clásicos at Camp Nou since Miguel Muñoz in 1965 (four in all competitions). 

Should Barcelona win this game, it would be their 50th victory over Real Madrid at home in La Liga.

No Barcelona manager has ever lost two Clásicos in a row at home. 

Barcelona and Real Madrid have not drawn a game without scoring and conceding in La Liga since November 2002, the worst La Liga season for the Culés in the 21ST century (6th).

Messi has gone five games without scoring against Real Madrid in all competitions, his worst such run in El Clásico. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored ten of Real Madrid’s last 16 goals at Camp Nou in all competitions.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored all five Real Madrid goals in his last two league games (one hat-trick and one brace).

Benzema has assisted more goals than any other current Real Madrid player in all competition Clásicos (5), with three of them scored by Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Zidane have gone 25 games in a row without a defeat in La Liga (W22 D3), with his team scoring in all of them (an average of three goals per game).

27 points after the opening 13 league games is the worst start for Barcelona since 2007/08 (also 27), when they finished the season in third place.

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Honours even at the Emirates, FC Bayern shocked in Russia and other Champions league results

Matchday 5 had some real drama and some brilliant matches. Some great comebacks and some shock defeats.

Group A

Arsenal vs PSG

Arsenal and PSG were fighting for the top spot in group. Both have not lost any match in group stage this season and gave it all out for a win at Emirates.

PSG started the game on the front foot and it took them just 17 minutes to grab the opener, a nice build up saw Thiago Motta finding Blaise Matuidi on the left, who ran into the box and squared it for Edinson Cavani at the far post, who poked the ball home.

Arsenal struggled to get hold of possession for the major part of the first half but somehow managed to earn a penalty after Olivier Giroud robbed Krychowiak off possession just outside the box and found Mesut Ozil, who played a brilliant reverse pass to Alexis Sanchez on the right, Krychowiak came sliding in after Alexis cut inside and just clipped his right foot. The referee pointed to the spot and Olivier Giroud leveled the score at the stroke of halftime.

In the 2nd half Arsenal looked completely a different team, sustaining continuous pressure on PSG and thus found their reward on the hour mark, when Carl Jenkinson, teed up by Sanchez, fired a cross in the box from the right and Marquinhos clearance ricochetoff shin's of Marco Veratti for an own goal.

PSG didn't hold back and the substitute Hatem Ben Arfa proved to be the culprit for Arsenal. His corner found Lucas Moura free on the far side, who was left unmarked and he sent his header towards goal which took a subtle touch off Alex Iwobi's head and went away from Ospina. Arsenal paid back for the own goal with an own goal thus leveling the score again.

Both managers threw everything to grab a winner but it ended all square at the Emirates and PSG lead Arsenal at top of the table with one matchday left.

In another group A match, Basel and Ludogorets played out a 0-0 draw in Bulgaria. The fight for a place in Europa league is still on.

Group B

The most trickiest group as 3 teams are in contention for the top two places.

SSC NAPOLI vs DYNAMO KYIV

The hosts were left frustrated by the Ukrainian side. After having so many chances, they had only themselves to blame as lack of sharpness in the final third cost them two points. Napoli are still top of the group but they would be really upset as they could have wrapped the group as table toppers.

They face Benfica away on last matchday.

BESIKTAS vs BENFICA

The most incredible match of the night as Besiktas came from three goal deficit to earn a point. Benfica scored three goals in the first 30 minutes of the match and had plenty of other chances but Besiktas rallied in the second half and Vincent Aboubakar leveled the score in the 89th minute to snatch a point and Benfica would really have been kicking themselves as they blew away a three goal lead and the chance to advance to knockout stages.

Group C

Celtic vs Barcelona

Two Lionel Messi goals on either side of the half helped Barcelona win in Glasgow and thus advancing to knockout stages while securing top spot in the Group.

Neymar assisted the first goal as it was a vintage Barcelona build up and Lionel Messi finished it.
In the 2nd half Suarez was brought down in the box and Lionel Messi stepped up to grab his second of the night and thus sealing all three points and top spot in the Group.
Leo Messi is the top scorer in group stages this season with 9 goals in 4 matches he has started. He is chasing Cristiano Ronaldo's record of most goals in Group stages. 

Borussia Monchengladbach vs Manchester City

Pep Guardiola's side last game in Champions league saw them defeat Barcelona at the Etihad.
City could have challenged Barcelona for the top spot but they only managed a draw against a sturdy Gladbach defense.

Gladbach took the lead in 23rd minute through Raffael after mounting early pressure on City's defence.
City equalized after a brilliant play through David Silva in the first half stoppage time.

2nd half saw both teams receiving Red Cards for poor challenges. First Lars Stindl of Gladbach barged into Otamendi and saw red, then minutes later Fernandinho pulled Raffael off the ball and was shown red. Though City protested for their red card as they thought it was harsh.
Both teams shared the spoils in the end and Manchester City with the draw went through to knockout stages behind Barcelona.

Group D

FC Rostov vs FC Bayern 

The biggest upset of the matchday 5 happened in Russia when the mighty Bayern lost 3-2 to FC Rostov.

Rostov produced a brave performance against the 5 times European champions. Althiugh Bayern went ahead through Douglas Costa when Renato Sanches ran into the box past defenders and fired a shot, the goalkeeper saved it but a horrible clearance from Rostov send the ball in the path of Costa who launched a thumping strike into the goal. FC Rostov equalized just 8 minutes later when Costa misplaced a pass and Poloz pounced on it and he send the ball to Sardar Azmoun who showed brilliant composure inside the box , taking advantage of Boateng's slip and send the ball past Bayern goalkeeper.

In the 48th minute a controversial penalty decision was given when Rostov's Noboa goes down under a challenge from Boateng, replay showed he got the part of the ball but referee didn't hesitate in pointing to the spot and Poloz buried the chance to give FC Rostov the lead.
Bayern stored parity just 2 minutes later, after a good link-up play between Renato Sanches and Ribery, who then teed up Bernat to finish home. It was blistering strike into the ceiling of the goal from the left-back.

Rostov continued their confident play and earned a free kick in the 64th minute. The free kick specialist of the team, Christian Noboa, took the charge and sent the ball around the wall and into the goal. It was a stunning strike from the specialist.

Home crowd got behind their team as it was deafening atmosphere in the stadium.
Rostov were leading the match and hold their nerves in the dying moments to beat Bayern.
It was their first ever champions league win and it would go down as the most memorable night in the club's history.

Bayern will now finish second in the group behind Atletico Madrid.

Atletico Madrid vs PSV Eindhoven

Atletico Madrid were the only team to have a 100% record in this season's champion league and they capped it with another comfortable win against the Dutch club.

Atletico won 2-0 on the night with goals from Kevin Gameiro assisted by Griezmann and Antoine Griezmann. Both goals were scored in the 2nd half.
Griezmann was the man of the match for his one assist and a goal.

The win saw Atletico Madrid topped the group with one game to spare.

This is how the matchday 5 unfolded and 12 teams have already qualified for the knockouts while remaining 4 positions will be fulfilled on the last matchday.
Some groups are still waiting for their table toppers as the last matchday will surely be an exciting one.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Massive blow for Real Madrid ahead of next month's El Clasico

​Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale will miss next month's Clasico clash with Barcelona after picking up an ankle injury in Tuesday night's Champions League win over Sporting CP.

The European champions have now confirmed Bale has damaged tendons in his ankle, and according to the ​Star, it's likely he will miss out on the blockbuster clash because of the expected recovery time from his injury. 

The club confirmed in a statement on Wednesday: "After tests our player Gareth Bale today at University Hospital Sanitas La Moraleja has been diagnosed with a traumatic dislocation of the peroneal tendons in his right ankle."

Bale has been in excellent form this season and helped Real destroy neighbours Atletico 3-0 at Vicente Calderon in their last league outing.

Los Blancos are already marred by some injuries lately. But this come as a heavy blow for them as the time of season they are heading in is crucial.

The biggest club football game on planet, El Clasico is on 3rd December which will be followed by Champions league encounter with Borussia Dortmund. The match against Dortmund will be a decider as who will top the table. Real Madrid need to win the match.

Tight schedule continues in December as they will travel to Japan for Club world cup.

Zinedine Zidane's squad depth will be put to test as the season enters to a crunch part.

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Malaga frustrate Barcelona

An exciting last 20 minutes of football at the Camp Nou. 

Barcelona were without Messi as he fell ill prior to the match and Luis Suarez who was out due to a suspension.

Barcelona did everything but score. The Catalans almost threw everything but they couldn't break a stubborn Malag defense.

It was all going well for Malaga until 69th minute when Diego Llorente picked up a red card for a cynical challenge on Neymar. It was tipped as it would be the game changing moment of the match as Malaga were down to 10 men and there was still 20 minutes of football left to be played.

But credit to Malaga resilience, they didn't allow Barcelona to score a goal. Pique went closest to scoring a goal but it was disallowed. Andre Gomes effort came off the bar and Carlos Kameni made a point blank range save from Neymar's header. Barcelona threw everything in the last minutes. Malaga even saw a 2nd red of the match when Juankar showed a bit of dissent with the referee when Barcelona was given a corner in the 97th minute, although only 4 minutes of stoppage time was given.
It ended 0-0 and Malaga were more than happy as they take away a point to Andalusia.
With this draw Barcelona threw away the chance to go top of the table.

Final score Barcelona 0-0 Malaga

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Leo Messi to leave Barcelona?

This will hurt Barcelona fans. If reports are to be believed, Lionel Messi has refused to sign a contract extension and will see out his current deal which ends in 2018 before deciding his future.
Madrid based sports daily Marca, claims that Leo Messi communicated his decision to the club mid-july when he was on a vacation with his wife Antonella Roccuzzo and two children, Thiago and Mateo.


The tax evasion case reportedly being said as one of the reasons behind this decision. Messi is unhappy as he is being pursuit by the tax authorities in Spain. Barcelona still remain optimistic though, on renewing the 29 years old contract.
Messi was sentenced to 21 months of prison after found guilty by the Spanish tax authorities.
Messi along with his father Jorge Messi were accused of using tax havens in Uruguay and Belize to hide more than ￡3m earnings.

Messi reaches court with his father Jorge Messi. Credits Mirror

Barca president Josep Bartomeu recently sealed contract extensions of a number of players like Sergio Busquets, Neymar Jr., and Javier Mascherano.

Andrés Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic, Marc-André Ter Stegen, Luis Suarez are yet to put pen to paper as they are also hoping for new improved deals.

Bartomeu claimed that he is not worried about Lionel Messi's future and said he will begin negotiations with the 5 times Ballon d'Or winner in January.

"We will have negotiations with Messi in a next couple of months," he told The Telegraph.

Former Barcelona and current Manchester City manager had not kept secret of his admiration for Messi, admitting that he would be the first one to approach if Leo Messi available.

Guardiola said in an interview in October, "I never called Messi. I never called Neymar, Suarez, Iniesta, Busquets, I didn't call anybody," ahead of Manchester City's game with Barcelona.

"In the case of Leo, I really want him to play and finish his career here[at Barcelona]. But maybe he will think, OK I want to go play somewhere else' because maybe his kids want to speak English or live a different experience, like has happened to many of us,"

"Maybe it could happen, but if he decides to go and it happens, there would be a list of seven or eight clubs who would want to sign him, and it would be down to him. Messi will decide where to go."

The reigning La Liga champions are currently on 2nd behind rivals Real Madrid. The next El Clasico is on 3rd December at Camp Nou.

Source

1. Mirror
2. The Telegraph

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

El Clásico - The biggest football game in the World

"El Clasico" as the name suggests itself, means The Classic. It is the name given to the rivalry between the two biggest clubs in this world, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Termed as probably the biggest game in club football, it is one of the most viewed match in this world. 

These two top clubs from Spain, whenever they play, the world stops. They have the largest fanbase and are the most followed team at present. According to Forbes, these are world's two most valuable teams.

History says this rivalry has surpassed every limits. Lots of controversies, on and off the field, politics, transfers etc. You will come to know about some interesting facts as you read through.

First El Clasico In history 

The first ever El Clasico was played in 1902 on the home ground of Real Madrid. It was a club competition game and Barcelona were the winners, winning by a scoreline of 3-1. 

After this although they played against each other in several friendlies it was in February of 1929, when they first met in Spanish competition La Liga, this time at Barcelona's home ground. 

Los Blancos won the match 2-1.

Real Madrid leads the head to head battle win 93 wins to Barcelona's 90. The two are teams are also never relegated from La Liga since its inception in 1929.

CONTROVERSIES

Some major controversies which involved both the clubs are : 

• 1943 Copa del Generalisimo semi-finals - When Barcelona won the first leg 3-0. Real Madrid complained about the goals which referee allowed for Barcelona. Whilst home supporters whistled against Real Madrid for applying rough tactics and against referee for allowing them to. A campaign began in Madrid and Barcelona fans were banned from traveling to Madrid. Real Madrid beat Barcelona 11-1 in the second leg.  It was one of the most controversial match.

• Alfredo di Stefano Transfer - The rivalry reached new heights when both clubs tried to sign Di Stefano in 1950s. Both clubs claimed to own his registration but when intervened by the FIFA president, it was decided the teams will share the players in alternate seasons. But eventually Di Stefano moved to Real Madrid and became an integral part of the club's success in the 60s.

• Luis Figo Transfer - In 2000, when Luis Figo moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid, this was the transfer surrounded by a lot of politics and controversies. It led to a hate campaign against him when he visited Barcelona in Real Madrid shirt. Banners with "Judas", "Scum" and "Mercenary" were hung around the stadium.

These are some of the notable controversies. 

More details at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cl%C3%A1sico

Recent 

In recent years, this rivalry has been overviewed as the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and after signings of players like Luis Suarez, Neymar by Barcelona and Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema by Real Madrid, it has broadened as the rivalry between the two trios BBC vs MSN.

Some Stats 

Top Goal Scorers in El Clásico

It's been some time since Lionel Messi scored against Los Blancos but he leads the overall tally. 

Cristiano Ronaldo not so far behind though.

Head to Head

 League Matches

  Copa Del Rey Matches

  UEFA Champions League Matches

Spanish Super Cup Matches

Summary of all competitive matches 

Friendlies

Summary of all competitive matches

Next Match

Upcoming El Clasico is on 3rd December. Real Madrid currently is on top of the table while Barcelona is on 2nd.

Sources

•  http://www.elclasicolivestream.com/real-madrid-vs-barcelona-head-to-head-all-time-stats.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org

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