Even though there were games in the Egyptian league, every single Egyptian football fan switched their attention to watch the biggest game in the football world at the moment. A near perfect attacking performance from Real Madrid led by best player on the planet Cristiano Ronaldo and supported by the brilliant trio of Isco, Benzema and James Rodriguez helped Real Madrid run riot as they defeated Barcelona 3-1 in a Clasico that could have witnessed a much bigger win for Real Madrid who missed some glorious chances in the second half. Barcelona's manager Luis Enrique started with Luis Suarez in his first game after the end of his biting ban and it was the Uruguayan who set up the first goal of the night as his superb cross field pass to Neymar saw the Brazilian cut inside, deceiving two Real Madrid defenders in the process before slotting the ball fiercely into the far corner past Casillas. The turning point of the game came a few minutes later as Messi missed an unbelievable chance to make it 2-0 to Barcelona after he shot straight at Casillas from inside the six yards after a splendid cross pass from Suarez yet again. Benzema hit the post and the woodwork in the same minute after that before one of the stars of the game, Marcelo, won a penalty for side when his cross was blocked by the arm of a sliding Pique in the 33rd minute. As he's done all season, Ronaldo finished emphatically, making it 1-1 and it was all Real Madrid from that point. Chances kept coming their way until the 50th minute where the usual villain Pepe made a heroic contribution this time as he sent in a bullet header from Kroos' cross to make it 2-1 to the home side. Eleven minutes later the game was over as Isco, who replaced the injured Gareth Bale, stole possession from Iniesta in the middle of the park and tried to send Ronaldo through on goal but the Portuguese mega star selflessly chose to pass it to James Rodriguez who in turn supplied Benzema with an amazing through ball. The Frenchman was never going to miss given his current brilliant form. Barcelona was completely shell-shocked for the remaining of the game as Real Madrid cut loose but without adding to their goal tally. Kroos and Modric rarely miss-placed a pass during the 90 minutes while the attacking quartet of Ronaldo, Isco, Benzema and James were at their very best and didn't give the Barca defence a minute of ease throughout the entire game. Marcelo demonstrated why many football pundits and experts think he's the world's finest left back at the moment with a performance full of energy, trickery and efficiency at both ends. In truth, it was an unbelievable performance from a team playing with superior confidence in recent months. Only one point separates both teams now though Barca is still top despite the mauling at the hands of their greatest rivals. The writer is a freelance journalist.
