An enthralling encounter between Spain's biggest clubs saw end-to-end action, a bloodied superstar and a last-minute winner. Barcelona's dramatic win means the race for the La Liga title is wide open once more.
Image: Reuters/S. Livepic
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These were 90 minutes no-one at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on Sunday will ever forget. Lionel Messi notched his 500th goal for FC Barcelona with the final kick of the game to give the Catalans a 3-2 win over Real Madrid.
The home side had started the game strongly, creating several chances and taking an early lead. But the advantage only lasted five minutes as Messi, left with a bloodied mouth after an elbow from Marcelo, put Barcelona back on level terms.
In an end-to-end affair, Ivan Rakitic then gave Barca the lead with a stunning, curling effort in the 72nd minute. Moments later, Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos was sent off a harsh tackle on Messi.
But Real kept pushing forward while down a man. James Rodriguez, on as a substitute in the 81st minute, smashed Vieira's cross home from close range to make it 2-2.
Real Madrid striker Christiano Ronaldo was not much of a factor in Sunday night's "El Clasico"Image: Picture-Alliance/AP Photo/F. Seco
With one last attack in the final minute of stoppage time, Barcelona hit the hosts on the counter attack. Sergio Roberto's brilliant run through the midfield opened up the left side for Jordi Alba's low feed to Messi inside the penalty area. Messi calmly slotted his shot into the bottom-left corner to put Barcelona ahead.
"(Messi) is the best of all time and I have seen a lot of football matches and videos," said FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique.
Messi's 500th goal was the final kick of the night. He heads the scoring charts in Spain with 31 for the season and has scored the most goals in "El Clasico".
The two rivals are now tied atop La Liga with 75 points each with five weeks remaining in the season. Barcelona have the advantage in the head-to-head but Real Madrid have a game in hand.
"There will be much more of a title race, but it is still in our own hands," said Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane.
The best players never to win an international tournament
Lionel Messi's retirement after another heartbreaking final loss means he'll never win a major tournament with Argentina. But the Barcelona star isn't alone. Some of the world's best never tasted international glory.
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Lionel Messi
The Barcelona superstar has been the Albiceleste’s shining light since making his international debut eleven years ago. Despite the exceptional levels of success the Argentine had with his club, he couldn’t help his country to their first piece of silverware since 1993, failing to win in the Copa America final three times, and losing to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final.
Image: GettyImages/AFP/Y. Cortez
Johan Cruyff
Another case of 'so near yet so far.' Cruyff, widely considered an all-time great, lost two consecutive World Cup finals, in 1974 and 1978. The Dutch legend did manage to get to third place in the 1976 European Championships, but he never got to replicate the success he had with both Ajax & FC Barcelona.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Zico
He may have been South American Player of the Year on three different occasions and World Player of the year once, but even though he scored a staggering 66 goals in 88 appearances with Brazil, Zico never got past the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
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Raul
Raul has captained the Spanish national team and scored 44 goals in 102 appearances, but unfortunately for him, this was before La Roja started winning trophies for fun. His last international appearance was on 6 September 2006 against Northern Ireland, two years before his teammates went on to win the European Championship for the first time since 1964.
Image: picture-alliance/Pressefoto Ulmer
Ferenc Puskas
The Hungarian national team of the fifties, recognized as one of the best sides of all time, didn’t lost a match for four years - and Puskas was their main man. Then came along Helmut Rahn who scored twice to win the 1954 World Cup for West Germany against the Hungarians, leaving Puskas without any international accolades.
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George Best
They used to say: “Maradona good, Pele better, George Best.” The Northern Ireland winger was one of the most talented footballers of all time and won a European Cup with his club Manchester United in 1968. However, Best did not win any international trophies for his country as Northern Ireland failed to qualify for any major tournaments during his career.
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Eusebio
Many considered Eusebio to be the best player in the world after the 1966 World Cup, when his Portugal team finished in third place. But that was as close as he’s got to an international title. Luckily for him, he won many titles for his club Benfica, including ten league championships and a European Cup.
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Stanley Matthews
'The Wizard of the Dribble' was the first recipient of the European Player of the Year award in 1956 and, incredibly, played in the English top flight until the age of 50. He only played in one World Cup in 1954, when England lost to defending champions Uruguay in the quarterfinals.
Image: picture-alliance/Bildarchiv/London Express
Paolo Maldini
His technique and positioning abilities were almost as phenomenal his looks... Paolo Maldini was one of the finest defenders of his time, but even though he managed to win many titles with his club AC Milan, he did not win any for his country Italy. He came close in 1994 when Brazil beat Italy on penalties in the final.
Image: picture-alliance/Lacy Perenyi
Uwe Seeler
Uwe Seeler played for Germany for 16 years, but only got as far as the final in 1966, where the West German team lost to England. His last international tournament was the 1970 World Cup, in which his country lost in the semis against Italy. Germany went back to winning ways two years later, winning Euro 1972 and the 1974 World Cup consecutively, but he was no longer part of the team.
