Take a look at the history of El Clasico as Real Madrid and Barcelona sit locked together on 72 league wins each ahead of Sunday's game.
It’s not only possibly a decisive day for the Spanish title, but the balance of power between Real Madrid and Barcelona could tip one way or the other as they clash on Sunday with both sides on 72 league wins against their arch rivals.
Historic disputes and new rivalries will be evident in a clash that has become arguably the biggest domestic clash in the world as they’ve done battle over the last nine decades as two of the game’s giants.
The first LaLiga El Clasico took place in February 1929, with Madrid winning 2-1 at Barcelona’s old Les Corts stadium. Barca soon got revenge, however, with a 1-0 victory at Real Madrid’s Chamartin stadium, helping them beat Los Blancos to the first ever LaLiga title by just two points.
The El Clasico rivalry was soon established as a key, unmissable part of each LaLiga season. 1934-35 brought two still famous results in the fixture, with Barca winning 5-0 at Les Corts before Real Madrid turned it around with a remarkable 8-2 victory at Chamartin.
The connection between the teams remained tight, especially as players moved freely between all clubs in LaLiga’s early years, with legendary goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora and forward Pep Samitier featuring for both sides in early El Clasicos.
Over the years the football-side of El Clasico became wrapped up in social and cultural factors, especially among their supporters in their home cities. Many at Barcelona identified with Catalan nationalism, while Real Madrid remained proud of its core Spanish identity.
1953’s ‘Alfredo Di Stefano case,’ when the Argentinian superstar almost joined Barca before eventually opting for Real Madrid, further complicated the relationship. Di Stefano remains Los Blancos’ top scorer in LaLiga Clasicos, with his 14 goals in 20 games including a double in a 5-3 away win in December 1960.
Johan Cruyff’s arrival at the Camp Nou in the mid-1970s helped bring Barca back to the top, and the Dutchman’s performance in a 5-0 LaLiga El Clasico win at the Bernabeu in February 1974 is still often talked about today. The Blaugrana's 5-0 victory with Cruyff as coach in January 1994 was a landmark, then followed 12 months later by Real Madrid getting revenge by the exact same ‘manita’ [“a little hand,” with five fingers] scoreline.
Luis Figo’s shock and controversial 2000 move from the Camp Nou to the Bernabeu ratcheted up the rivalry between the clubs once again, while things got even more heated when Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho were Barca and Real Madrid coaches respectively.
An emphatic 5-0 win in their first meeting in November 2010 set Guardiola’s early dominance, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s decisive goal at the Camp Nou in April 2012 all but sealed that season’s LaLiga title for Mourinho’s men.
Barca’s Lionel Messi is the fixture’s record scorer with 18 goals in 26 LaLiga El Clasicos, including a famous hat-trick at the Bernabeu in 2014.
More recently it has been a game for the away team, with the visitors often getting good results on their travels – as Barca have shown by winning on their last four visits to the capital, while the 0-0 last December means Los Blancos have lost just one of their last five games at the Camp Nou.
Sunday brings a chance for more LaLiga El Clasico history, as Real Madrid or Barca could take a decisive step in this year's title race and in the process tilt the historical record back in their favour.
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Odds correct as of 1430 GMT on 27/02/20
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