FULL REACTION: Why this El Clasico  vs. Barcelona cost Real Madrid
Channel: Football helper
Date: 2023-05-12

What a weekend in European football! Barcelona bested eternal rivals Real Madrid in the latest Clasico to give themselves a potentially decisive lead in LaLiga's title race, while Arsenal put four goals past Crystal Palace to seize control in the Premier League before the international break. (Don't write off Man City yet, though, as Erling Haaland continues to score for fun and notched a hat trick against Burnley in their FA Cup quarterfinal.)

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga & more (U.S.)


Elsewhere, we had talking points galore in the Bundesliga -- Sunday's VAR-aided defeat for Bayern Munich means Borussia Dortmund now hold pole position in the title race -- and with Man United, who benefited from Fulham's self-destruction to advance to the FA Cup semifinals.

Napoli won again in Serie A, Lazio and Roma put on a fiery derby and Chelsea found their recent run of form halted against Everton in the Premier League. Oh, and Paris Saint-Germain lost for the first time at home in Ligue 11 with Lionel Messi in the lineup, prompting plenty of questions about what's next for this club.

It's Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the world of football.


Barcelona take a giant step towards LaLiga title with Clasico win
The broad rule: if the number of games remaining is equal or greater to your lead in the table, you can generally think about putting the champagne on ice. I haven't run the numbers on this -- I'd assume there are analytics types out there who have -- but it seems pretty reasonable.

It seems especially reasonable in Barcelona's case after their 2-1 win over Real Madrid on Sunday night, which means the gap is 12 points -- and not six -- with 12 games remaining. Barca still have to face the third-, fourth- and fifth-place sides in the table. But those matches -- against Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad and Betis -- are all at Camp Nou, where Barca have conceded just twice all season and won 11 of 13 games.

Barcelona are in decent shape on the injury front, too, with Pedri expected to make his
 return after the international break, which means Ousmane Dembele is the only starter sidelined for a significant period. And with no European football on the calendar -- unlike with Real Madrid -- it becomes easier to pace yourself.


Barcelona hung tough against rivals Madrid and snagged a dramatic late win that should see them clinch LaLiga this season. Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images
On Sunday, Barca fell behind to Ronald Araujo's freak own goal, but nevertheless pressed on (as you'd expect) and got the equaliser via Sergi Roberto just before the break. A draw would not have been a bad result, yet they continued to look more menacing for a good chunk of the second half, until Carlo Ancelotti's substitutions put Madrid in the ascendancy. And sure enough, Madrid might have gotten the winner had VAR noted that Marco Asensio was fractionally offside. Instead, moments later, Barca went up the other way on the break and Franck Kessie got the winner.

- Marsden: Barcelona's 100th Clasico win has surely settled title race
- Replay: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, LaLiga, ESPN+

Upshot? Had Asensio been less than an inch farther from the goal, Real Madrid would probably have won, the gap would have been six points and we'd be praising them for their patience and saying they deserved the victory. Instead, the gap is 12 points and yes, we can say Barca deserved the win. Because that's football. Goals (and goals not given) change games.

Xavi deserves credit for his defensive matchups, again putting Araujo at right-back to counter Vinicius and deploying Jules Kounde in the middle, where he frustrated Karim Benzema. Those were two of Real Madrid's most significant weapons  tamed, if not neutralized, and it gave Barca a solid platform from which to operate. (Of course, every action has a counterreaction, and I suspect one of Ancelotti's regrets is not being able to exploit the matchups, especially Benzema in the air against Kounde. Benzema is a phenomenal header of the ball and several inches taller than Kounde, yet he didn't get that sort of service on the day.)