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FULL-TIME, Barcelona 0-0 Real Madrid: This was fun and intense, and no team really deserved to win on the balance of play. Barça remain leaders on goal difference, so this is not a bad night at all.
OFFSIDE! Madrid almost take the lead. Casemiro finds Ferland Mendy with a briliiant pass, and the full-back gives Gareth Bale a tap-in. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, and VAR confirmed the call.
60min: Chaotic start to the second half with fans throwing dozens of yellow balls into the pitch and a lot of bad football from both sides. Even Messi made an ugly mistake trying to shoot on goal. This is hilarious right now.
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Barcelona 0-0 Real Madrid: Come on, boys! Let’s keep up the good work from the end of the first half and find a winner!
HALFTIME, Barcelona 0-0 Real Madrid: Fantastic first half for neutrals, really nervous for Barça fans. We did improve in the final 15 minutes and had three really good chances to score, but Madrid have clearly been the better team and Barça are lucky not to be down. Gotta play better in the second.
25min: Madrid have completely dominated the start of this game and should have scored at least once if not for a great goal-line clearance by Lenglet, a strong penalty shout denied on Varane and a couple of really good saves by Ter Stegen. Barça hanging by a thread here.
KICKOFF! Barcelona 0-0 Real Madrid: Come on, boys, it’s El Clásico! Let’s win this thing!
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; Roberto, Rakitic, De Jong, Griezmann; Messi, Suárez (4-4-2)
Bench: Neto (GK), Umtiti, Busquets, Vidal, Aleñá, Pérez, Ansu Fati
REAL MADRID
Starting XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Valverde; Isco; Bale, Benzema (4-3-1-2)
Bench: Areola (GK), Militão, Nacho, Modric, Rodrygo, Vinicius, Jovic
WELCOME TO CAMP NOU!!! The Greatest Stadium on Earth is the site of a gigantic La Liga match two extra months in the making as Barcelona and Real Madrid face off in the first El Clásico of the season. This was supposed to happen in October but was postponed for political and security reasons, but we’re good to go tonight and this should all kinds of fun. And you are welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action in what’s going to be a great game. LET’S LIVE BLOG!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2019-20 La Liga, Matchday 10
Date/Time: Wednesday, December 18, 2019, 8pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 7pm GMT (UK), 2pm ET, 11am PT (USA), 12.30am IST (India, Thursday)
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: Alejandro José Hernández Hernández
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM EL CLÁSICO
How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), Premier Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport 7 (Nigeria), Movistar La Liga (Spain), Not Available (India), others
How to stream: FuboTV (USA), beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA & Canada), Premier Player (UK), Movistar+ (Spain), Facebook Live (India), others
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, be careful with the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!