Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona LIVE! Valverde goal – El Clasico match stream, latest score and updates today
Valverde #Valverde
Real Madrid and Barcelona renew one of football’s greatest rivalries at the Bernabeu this afternoon with the two sides currently neck-and-neck at the LaLiga summit. Neither club have yet tasted domestic defeat so far in 2022/23, with only goal difference placing Xavi’s team above that of Carlo Ancelotti after seven wins and a draw from the opening eight matches for both.
However, Barcelona are dealing with something of an injury crisis defensively for the latest showdown with their greatest foes and are on the brink of another Champions League group-stage exit despite Robert Lewandowski’s last-gasp header against Inter Milan. Real Madrid, meanwhile, are set to be without Thibaut Courtois today with Andriy Lunin poised to deputise on the biggest stage, though Antonio Rudiger should at least be fit after a nasty head injury suffered while scoring against Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek.
Real Madrid boast 100 wins to Barcelona’s 97 in arguably the world’s most famous club fixture, winning four in a row until their 4-0 hammering on home soil back in March. Follow Real Madrid vs Barcelona in El Clasico LIVE with Standard Sport’s blog below!
El Clasico latest news
Real Madrid CF 2 – 0 FC Barcelona
16:18 , Giuseppe Muro
46 mins: We’re back underway at the Bernabeu.
Real are unbeaten in their last 52 La Liga matches when leading at half-time (W48 D4) dating back to February 2019 against Girona. Can Barca find a way back into this one?
16:13 , Giuseppe Muro
Those Benzema and Valverde goals are only the second and third times that Barcelona have conceded in La Liga all season.
But as it stands Real are heading three points clear at the top.
16:06 , Giuseppe Muro
Barcelona need a big second-half showing to extend their unbeaten start in La Liga. Real are in a commanding position.
Half-time: Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona 16:05 , Giuseppe Muro
Barca have had more possession but it has been a clinical display from Real.
The hosts lead at the break in the 250th Clasico though goals from Karim Benzema and Federico Valverde.
16:01 , Giuseppe Muro
38 mins: Barcelona have had more of the ball and more chances but Real have been clinical.
Real have had four shots, three on target and two goals.
16:00 , Giuseppe Muro
Valverde now has four La Liga goals this season, his best ever return…
GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona | Federico Valverde 35’ 15:52 , Giuseppe Muro
Real have soaked up a spell of pressure and hit Barca on the break to double their lead!
Vinicius Jr backheels the ball to Rodrygo on the edge of the area, he feeds Mendy on the left and he pulls it back to Valverde who drills a shot into the bottom corner from outside the area. Brilliant finish.
Barca have a mountain to climb.
15:47 , Giuseppe Muro
30 mins: Half an hour played and we have our first yellow card as Vinicius Jr goes into the book for dissent.
15:46 , Giuseppe Muro
28 mins: Barca are growing into the game a bit more now. They are having a better spell and Dembele heads over from a Roberto cross at the near post.
15:44 , Giuseppe Muro
26 mins: The Barca Twitter admin can’t believe it either…
15:43 , Giuseppe Muro
25 mins: What a miss from Lewandowski! How did he not score?!
Raphinha slides a brilliant ball across the face of goal and past Lunin, all Lewandowski has to do is tap the ball home at the back post but sliding he fires over from a yard out. Xavi can’t believe it. What a let off for Real.
15:41 , Giuseppe Muro
22 mins: Xavi is overseeing his 50th match in charge of Barca today and a defeat today would put some pressure on him. They are set to exit the Champions League despite their big spending against their future in the summer and will slip three points behind Real if they lose.
15:38 , Giuseppe Muro
18 mins: Raphinha goes down easily after an arm to the face from Mendy but there was nothing in that.
15:38 , Giuseppe Muro
15 mins: Real are dictating things now and whenever Barca do have the ball the home side are so well organised. Lewandowski is struggling to made an impact, Barca need to find a response here.
15:35 , Giuseppe Muro
Benzema has now scored 8 goals against Barcelona in La Liga.
Here’s how he gave Real the lead…
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Barcelona | Karim Benzema 12’ 15:28 , Giuseppe Muro
Who else?! Benzema is set to receive the Ballon d’Or tomorrow and he was always going to have a say today.
Kroos rides a challenge from Busquets and feeds Vinicius Jr down the left, he has a shot saved by Ter Stegen and the rebound falls to Benzema to fire past several defenders on the line.
15:25 , Giuseppe Muro
8 mins: The resulting corner is clearer. Real were inches away from the lead there.
15:25 , Giuseppe Muro
7 mins: First chance! And it falls to Real. Vinicius Jr finds space in the penalty area and his shot deflects inches wide of the post with Ter Stegen scrambling.
15:23 , Giuseppe Muro
4 mins: Lewandowski sends the ball over the top to Dembele who cuts inside and a shot from Raphinha is blocked. But Dembele was offside.
15:22 , Giuseppe Muro
3 mins: A heavy touch by Ter Stegen outside his box almost puts him in trouble but he puts the ball out of play.
15:20 , Giuseppe Muro
2 mins: A decent bit of early defending from Kounde to deny Vinicius Jr on the wing.
KICK-OFF! 15:17 , Giuseppe Muro
We’re underway at the Bernabeu!
Who will come out on top in the battle of the top two in La Liga?
15:14 , Giuseppe Muro
Here come the two teams at the Bernabeu in front of an estimated worldwide audience of around 700 million! This is a rivalry like no other.
15:06 , Giuseppe Muro
So a quick reminder of the team news.
Real No1 Thibaut Courtois is still out so Andriy Lunin makes his Clasico debut in goal. Antonio Rudiger is only on the bench after needing 20 stitches to the head in midweek.
For Barca, Robert Lewandowski, Alex Balde, Jules Kounde and Raphinha are making their first Clasico appearances.
Kick-off is now under 30 minutes away
This was the Real team coach arriving at earlier. Matches between these two great rivals are always big but this feels particularly significant today…
14:37 , Giuseppe Muro
It’s a battle of the two No9s today as Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski lead the line against each other in El Clasico for the first time.
Lewandowksi is leading the La Liga scoring charts with nine goals in eight games, with Benzema on three goals in five games having struggled with injury issues.
The Real captain missed two league games, including the Madrid derby against Atletico, with a thigh problem, then picked up a knock that ruled him out of Real’s victory over Getafe last week.
14:28 , Giuseppe Muro
Here are the home side…
14:23 , Giuseppe Muro
Real will also be keeping a close eye on the situation of Kylian Mbappe, who feels betrayed by Paris Saint-Germain and wants to leave the club in January.
Mbappe signed a new three-year deal in May after he made a last-minute u-turn on a decision to join Real earlier this year.
But the France striker now feels he made a mistake and would prefer a move to Real.
Although, according to ESPN, the Spanish giants are apparently no longer interested in his signature because they are keen to avoid the embarrassment of being led down the garden path again.
However, La Liga president Javier Tebas has talked up the likelihood of Real Madrid reigniting their interest.
“I can see it’s difficult for the club because it hurts what he did to Madrid in the summer,” he said.
“But I don’t think fans are going to say no to adding such a player to their squad. If Mbappe comes, he will be applauded, cheered, followed.”
Barcelona have arrived the Bernabeu…
14:06 , Giuseppe Muro
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona were alerted this week after it emerged that Erling Haaland could leave Manchester City as early as 2024 if a foreign club stumps up the £175million required to trigger his release clause.
According to the Daily Mail, the clause can be activated just two years into his five-year contract by a club outside the Premier League.
That news will particularly interest Real Madrid, who went head-to-head with City to sign Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
Real will again be in the hunt for Haaland in the summer of 2024 as they look to replace Karim Benzema, who will be 36 by that time.
Frenkie de Jong decided to stay at Barcelona long before Chelsea and Manchester United made their interest known.
Both clubs attempted to sign the Dutch midfielder in the summer transfer window but found him unwilling to discuss a move, despite Barcelona’s desire to cash in on their highest-paid player.
United even agreed a £63million fee to sign De Jong but issues with the Blaugrana in deferred salary payments amid their financial crisis held up the deal.
De Jong has claimed “pressure” on him to leave Barcelona came from several quarters, although he held firm in his preference to stay in Spain.
“I was calm,” he told Ziggo Sport via Marca. “I decided, in May, that I wanted to stay.
“My opinion has never changed during all this period – I remained calm.
“But then you know that the pressure would start coming. Yes, from the newspapers, from the president. From everywhere in fact. But I wanted to stay at Barcelona, so it never baffled me.”
Real Madrid are better than any other club at helping their players win the Ballon d’Or, according to director of France Football Pascal Ferre.
Karim Benzema is widely expected to pick up the 2022 award when the winner is announced on Monday, which would see him follow the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric in securing the individual prize while at the La Liga club.
While Lionel Messi is a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, and has almost exclusively shared the award with Ronaldo over the past 15 years, no club has had more different players voted as the best in the men’s game than Real.
France Football are responsible for the 30-man shortlist and while five Real players are nominated this year, Ferre believes that president Florentino Perez is careful to ensure his club have one clear star in the team.
Read the full story here!
The Catalan giants are sponsored by Spotify and will be celebrating Drake becoming the first artist to surpass 50 billion streams by wearing a special shirt with his logo on it.
Tried and trusted from Caro Ancelotti 13:33 , Jonathan Gorrie
Antonio Rudiger and Rodrygo were perhaps the two potential starters today but, much as he vowed before the game, Carlo Ancelotti sticks to what he knows best.
Real Madrid are without Thibaut Courtois for the first El Clasico of the season against Barcelona today, but Antonio Rudiger is fit to feature on the bench.
Los Blancos battle their fiercest rivals for top spot in LaLiga with both sides unbeaten as things stand and Carlo Ancelotti has been boosted by Karim Benzema’s recent return from injury. Once more, the Frenchman leads the line.
Rudiger put his body on the line to secure a dramatic equaliser against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and faces a fitness test, though Ancelotti is well-stocked defensively.
Confirmed Real Madrid lineup 13:22 , Jonathan Gorrie Xavi’s pre-match message 13:12 , Jonathan Gorrie
Under pressure after drawing with Inter Milan to leave Barcelona’s Champions League hopes hanging by a thread, Xavi is eyeing today’s Clasico as a chance to get back on track.
“El Clásico is a great opportunity for us,” he said.
“It’s challenge and we need to change the chip. … The three points are important but it’s more about boosting our morale and confidence, and that’s as important for Real Madrid as it is for us. But you have to remember that we are still building this team. We’re angry about the setback in the Champions League, but we’re on the right track.”
Barcelona want to exploit the contract situations of N’Golo Kante and Jorginho and are keen to sign the Chelsea duo on free transfers next summer, writes Nizaar Kinsella.
The midfield pair are both out of contract at the end of the season and will be free to talk to interested foreign clubs from January.
Chelsea are open to renewing the contracts of both players but want to sign Kante on reduced terms from his £290,000-a-week deal due to his fitness struggles.
Only a short-term contract is currently on the table for the France international, who has suffered a setback in his return from his latest injury.
Kante has been sidelined for two months with a hamstring issue and Graham Potter confirmed on Monday that the club are still waiting to confirm his fitness.
Carlo Ancelotti says he will keep things simple as he prepares for Sunday’s Clasico with Barcelona.
The Real Madrid manager deployed Luka Modric as a false nine during the last meeting between the two in March, a game in which Barca ran out 4-0 winners.
“I’m not going to reinvent the wheel, you can count on that,” Ancelotti told a news conference on Saturday with a wry smile.
Read his comments in full here!
With both teams yet to taste domestic defeat this season, the stakes are high even at this early stage. For that reason, expect it to be cagey.
1-1 draw.
Jules Kounde could be rushed back into action despite a recent injury as Xavi faces a defensive crisis.
Elsewhere for Barca, Hector Bellerin, Andreas Christensen and attacker Memphis Depay are all out.
Frenkie de Jong and Franck Kessie could offer more dynamism in midfield amid doubts about Sergio Busquets’ ability to peform at the top level much longer, though the defensive worries are a major problem.
Thibaut Courtois is expected to miss the game following his recent nerve injury, with Andriy Lunin on standby. Antonio Rudiger trained in at least some capacity, but Eder Militao and David Alaba provide adequate cover in central defence.
Federico Valverde will almost certainly start on the right of the attack and the rest of Carlo Ancelotti’s side largely picks itself.
Karim Benzema is fit again.
TV channel: In the UK, El Clasico will be broadcast live on Premier Sports 1 and LaLiga TV.
Live stream: Premier Sports subscribers will also be able to watch the game online via the Premier Player app.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s dedicated live match blog.
Good afternoon and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Sunday’s huge Clasico.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are level on points at the top of LaLiga ahead of today’s clash at the Santiago Bernabeu and a win for either would be quite the statement.
Kick-off in Madrid is at 3.15pm BST.
