Messi magic, Bale beauty, Mourinho mauling: Five greatest El Clasico matches ever

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Sports Mole picks retired 5 of the greatest-ever El Clasico matches betwixt Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The latest instalment of the El Clasico takes centre signifier astatine King Abdullah Sports City successful Saudi Arabia arsenic Real Madrid and Barcelona fastener horns successful the Spanish Super Cup last connected Sunday.

Carlos Ancelotti's broadside secured a ascendant 3-0 triumph implicit Mallorca successful the semi-finals connected Thursday, conscionable a time aft Hansi Flick's men bushed Athletic Bilbao 2-0 successful the different last-four tie.

Thirteen-time Supercopa de Espana winners Real Madrid are the existent holders aft beating Barcelona - 14-time winners - 4-1 past year's showpiece event.

El Clasico is 1 of the biggest matches successful satellite shot betwixt these 2 Spanish juggernauts, and games involving some Real Madrid and Barcelona are renowned for producing precocious drama, goalmouth action, fierce confrontations and unmissable moments that person been cemented successful shot folklore for eternity.

There has been small to abstracted these 2 teams implicit the decades, with Real Madrid winning 105 and Barcelona winning 101 of the 258 erstwhile battles crossed each tournaments implicit a 96-year period.

Ahead of Sunday eagerly-anticipated contest, Sports Mole picks retired 5 of the top El Clasico matches successful history.

Barcelona 3-3 Real Madrid | La Liga | March 2007

Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring connected March 10, 2007 © Imago

The shot assemblage had lone 1 sanction connected their lips astatine the decision of this pulsating El Clasico brushwood - Lionel Messi.

At the property of conscionable 19, Messi's translation from wonderkid to superstar was determination for the satellite to see, and helium genuinely introduced himself to the El Clasico signifier is immoderate benignant with a memorable hat-trick astatine Camp Nou.

Within the opening 28 minutes, Ruud van Nistelrooy had fixed Real Madrid the pb twice, but some strikes were cancelled retired by Messi equalisers. Barca ended a breathless archetypal fractional with 10 men aft Oleguer was shown 2 yellowish cards.

Victor Valdes past denied Van Nistelrooy his hat-trick 3 times successful the 2nd half, earlier Sergio Ramos thought helium had won it for Los Blancos with a 73rd-minute header. However, Barca's Argentine teen came to the rescue, bursting past 2 defenders earlier firing location a 91st-minute equaliser to implicit his treble.

Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid | La Liga | October 2010

Barcelona's David Villa celebrates scoring connected October 29, 2010 © Imago

Real Madrid supporters look distant now...

Not agelong aft welcoming a caller harvest of Galacticos, including Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho had enjoyed the champion commencement of immoderate Real Madrid manager successful the club's history, but his baptism of occurrence astatine Camp Nou ended successful humiliating manner arsenic Pep Guardiola's Barcelona enactment them to the sword 5-0 with a dominant, tiki-taka display.

While Messi was not connected the scoresheet successful this one, helium inactive made his beingness felt and assisted David Villa for some of his goals, portion Xavi, Pedro and Jeffren Suarez besides made the nett ripple, earlier a customary Sergio Ramos reddish paper successful stoppage clip rubbed brackish into Real Madrid's wounds.

Real Madrid 3-4 Barcelona | La Liga | March 2014

Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring connected March 23, 2014 © Imago

Seven goals, 3 penalties, a hat-trick, a reddish card, 35 fouls, precocious drama... this El Clasico thriller had it all!

Barcelona's agleam commencement was rewarded with a seventh-minute opener from Andreas Iniesta, but Angel Di Maria acceptable up Karim Benzema to people doubly successful the abstraction of conscionable 4 minutes and crook the lucifer connected its caput earlier the 25-minute mark. Gerardo Martino's men, however, entered fractional clip each quadrate courtesy of a Lionel Messi equaliser 3 minutes earlier the break.

Real Madrid were up again, this clip successful arguable circumstances 10 minutes aft the restart, arsenic Cristiano Ronaldo converted from the punishment spot contempt being tripped by Dani Alves conscionable extracurricular the area, but the hosts were reduced to 10 men soon aft Sergio Ramos - who other - was fixed his marching orders for felling Neymar wrong the box.

Messi made nary mistake from the resulting 12-yarder to reconstruct parity, and aft Dani Alves had struck the woodwork, Barca's No.10 won the crippled for the Catalan visitors with different emphatic spot footwear six minutes from time, aft Iniesta was sandwiched betwixt Xabi Alonso and Dani Carvajal. Barca's triumph ended Real's 17-game winning streak astatine the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona | Copa del Rey last | April 2014

Real Madrid's Gareth Bale celebrates scoring with teammates connected April 16, 2014 © Imago

Just a period later, Real Madrid got their revenge successful the Copa del Rey last without the beingness of injured talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, with Welsh wizard Gareth Bale filling the void successful admirable fashion.

Angel Di Maria fired an 11th-minute opener into the bottommost corner, earlier Barcelona levelled acknowledgment to Marc Bartra's superb second-half header. However, Bartra's elation soon morphed into despair, arsenic helium was incapable to halt an iconic El Clasico match-winner scored by Bale 5 minutes from time.

Just arsenic the closely-fought contention looked to beryllium heading to other time, Bale received the shot connected the halfway enactment and knocked it into the bare Barcelona half. Bartra's champion efforts to unit Bale disconnected the transportation were successful vain, arsenic the Los Blancos winger inactive managed to outsprint his Spanish counterpart and kept his equilibrium arsenic helium chopped wrong and coolly squeezed his changeable beyond Jose Manuel Pinto, helping Real triumph a 19th Copa del Rey trophy.

Real Madrid 2-3 Barcelona | La Liga | April 2017

Although Real Madrid went connected to pip Barcelona to the La Liga rubric successful this year, the Catalan giants extended the rubric contention for a small portion longer with a important five-goal triumph astatine the Bernabeu, with Messi etching his sanction into the past books erstwhile again.

Los Blancos dominated the opening exchanges and yet broke the deadlock conscionable earlier the half-hour people done Casemiro, but his close-range decorativeness was cancelled retired by Messi conscionable 5 minutes aboriginal courtesy of a good idiosyncratic goal.

While some Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo missed bully opportunities to springiness their teams a second-half lead, some Keylor Navas and Marc-Andre ter Stegen were called into enactment to marque respective important stops during a frantic end-to-end matter - the second made a full of 12 saves successful the 90 minutes, portion the erstwhile reacted brilliantly to support retired Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez from adjacent range.

However, Navas was incapable to halt Ivan Rakitic's 20-yard rocket from flying into the acold country connected the 73-minute mark, giving Barcelona the lead, earlier Sergio Ramos was sent disconnected (again) for a two-footed lunge connected Messi conscionable 4 minutes later.

Real Madrid refused to spell down without a combat with 10 men and it looked arsenic if they had snatched a constituent erstwhile James Rodriguez nipped towards the adjacent station to conscionable Marcelo's transverse and slot location an 85th-minute equaliser. However, Messi stepped up to present erstwhile Barca needed it most, scoring his 500th extremity for the Catalan nine successful the 92nd infinitesimal to seal a memorable triumph successful the Spanish capital.

Honourable mentions:

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