Lionel Messi and Barcelona leave everyone drooling with beautiful El Clasico display

Matthew Gault

When they get going, they really are a joy to watch.

As far as El Clasicos go, it wasn’t the greatest. In terms of the title race, it wasn’t a great outcome either.

However, while Real Madrid fans didn’t get the early Christmas present they were hoping for, some of the football Barcelona played in the second-half left reminded everyone why we always tune in to watch Lionel Messi and the lads do what they do best.

Zinedine Zidane won’t be a happy man as Madrid lost 3-0 to their bitter rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu, effectively ending their hopes of retaining the La Liga title. They are now 14 points behind Barca and the likelihood of making up that deficit is remarkably slim.

Sky Sports summed up the match by saying Barca had enjoyed a sunny Saturday afternoon stroll in the Spanish capital.

Ouch.

But the neutrals were unanimous in their praise for Barca once they got going after the break, particularly the free-flowing move which yielded Luis Suarez’s opener.

There was also special praise for Messi, the one-man record-breaking machine. He became the first man to reach 25 El Clasico goals, while he surpassed the legendary German striker Gerd Muller in the scoring charts in Europe’s top five leagues.

remember this is a Barcelona side WITHOUT Ousmane Dembélé and Samuel Umtiti. they're going to get much better.

— Muhammad Butt (@muhammadbutt) December 23, 2017

https://twitter.com/messi10stats/status/944560594153345029

526th career club goal
50th Barcelona goal in 2017
25th El Clasico goal
15th goal at the Bernabeu

Lionel Messi everyone 🙌#FCB #ElClasico pic.twitter.com/04wlyIJPM5

— bwin (@bwin) December 23, 2017

Years in which Lionel Messi has scored 50 goals for Barcelona:
2017 50
2016 51
2014 50
2012 79
2011 55
2010 58#footballliveng pic.twitter.com/OtntdgTaWi

— FootballLiveNG (@footballliveCH) December 23, 2017

Goals scored in 2017…

Messi – 54
Ronaldo – 53

Not a bad way to go in-front 👏 pic.twitter.com/Z51CUoff1z

— Ladbrokes (@Ladbrokes) December 23, 2017

https://twitter.com/ajaxdailydotcom/status/944564619087089664

https://twitter.com/ahmadf_o/status/944562184205545473

https://twitter.com/fcb_OneTouch/status/944557741216997376

Messi showing Madridistas the point gap between Barcelona and Real Madrid.😂 #ElClasico pic.twitter.com/qVedlHgHvI

— Humour Thoughts (@HumourThoughts) December 23, 2017

If you'd have told me back in August that Barcelona would win (3-0 at that) against Madrid at the Bernabeau with Vermaelen and Paulinho starting, I'd have asked you what drugs are you on but here we are.

— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) December 23, 2017

Live scenes at the bernaLEO pic.twitter.com/C5FSb3Z7mY

— Barça Worldwide (@BarcaWorldwide) December 23, 2017

Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, was lambasted for his contributions to the game. Suffice to say, he didn’t have his best game. While Messi soaked up the acclaim, Ronaldo was left seething.

#ElClasico contribution
Lionel Messi
Completed 50/57 passes, 9 chances created, 1 assist
4 shots, 3 on target, 1 goal

Cristiano Ronaldo
Completed 22/27 passes, 1 chance created
5 shots, 1 on target pic.twitter.com/GjJQ8PueKl

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) December 23, 2017

https://twitter.com/TeejayAljead/status/944567415458942976