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At the end of what may be his final Clásico at the Camp Nou, Lionel Messi wore a lost look that has become too familiar to Barcelona fans. Luka Modric had just left his goalkeeper, Norberto Neto, to score a third goal for Real Madrid and ensure the victory, the ball hit the net and the shouts cut the silence of an empty arena, which was heard above the helicopter that hummed overhead.
Barcelona had much of the ball, but could not find the exit when looking for the lead or the way back when they were losing and were finally defeated again, the revolution postponed once again.
This had been a day to prove a point after back-to-back losses, Zinedine Zidane had said. And although he had required a penalty in the second half awarded by the VAR and scored by Sergio Ramos, the players he said he would return “to death” did. On both sides of that goal, goals from Fede Valverde and Modric led Madrid to victory.
Zidane, who was under pressure, has never been defeated at Barcelona as a manager. Messi left without being able to score a classic goal again, a streak that dates back 900 days.
Without fans, this was not a great occasion and football was rarely of the highest level, it was not the feast of before, but the shyness that seemed defined to define this game was swept away early. Two goals came in the first eight minutes, Karim Benzema released Valverde for a well-used first and Ansu Fati tied two minutes later when Barcelona did a family trick. Messi found Jordi Alba running down the left, chest out, head thrown back, legs buzzing, and delivered the perfect kick for Fati to become the youngest scorer in the history of this match.
Madrid struggled to deal with Alba, who was flying. Messi was also active, twice almost going through Madrid and knocked down the last time both times.
This was turning into a fun game, coming to life with a single sequence that brought three chances in one minute, two of them one-on-one. From far north to south and back he went, starting with a Raphaël Varane header from the edge of the six-yard box, continuing with Thibaut Courtois making an excellent save from Messi and concluding with Neto denying Benzema. Both stops impressed; both attackers should have scored.
Early in the second half, Fati fired a deflected shot and then crashed towards the far post, where Philippe Coutinho should have scored, but headed wide. The movement had started after Messi somehow escaped into space, the team was racing to join him, but just as Barcelona seemed to be taking control of this Madrid moment, he arrived.
The referee was called to the VAR screen where he saw a repetition of Ramos’ fall, with the shirt in the hand of Clement Lenglet. Ramos did what he does and scored from the point of view, without the slightest doubt. Indeed, he was the winner in his 45th Clásico, more than anyone else.
However, there was still to be defended. Barcelona pressed. Messi slipped a smart ball to Alba, whose cross was rejected by Courtois and Coutinho, who followed, was unable to finish.
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If the traffic was one-way, there was little clarity and few opportunities for Barcelona, and Madrid seemed happy to wait for them. A Messi free kick hit the wall and a Frenkie De Jong header hit Casemiro, but that was it.
With 10 minutes to go, Ronald Koeman made a triple change: Antoine Griezmann, Francisco Trincão and Ousmane Dembélé entered. The formation was broken, the change made Barcelona worse, not better.
Three clear chances followed, but all were from Madrid, Neto made a double stop by Toni Kroos and then denied Ramos before Modric calmly dodged him in extra time and, with the outside of the boot, finished him off.
