Real Madrid

El Clasico is back to being a top of the table clash with Real Madrid and Barcelona tied on points at the La Liga summit. The first of their two league ...

— Barcelona have some key injuries at the back: Ronald Araujo (hip) is out, as are Andreas Christensen and Hector Bellerin. The German international will be fitted with a custom mask to protect the wound should he enter the game. Barcelona's main kit sponsor Spotify is promoting Drake's milestone of 50 billion downloads, the first artist to reach that mark on the music streaming platform. It's the owl logo of 115 mins to kick: Antonio Rudiger will be wearing a mask for this match to protect the gash that he suffered while scoring the stoppage-time equalizer in the UEFA Champions League. Still, defeat in this match would see Xavi's job security teeter on the brink. However, he says "this is a game to enjoy," so he wants himself and his players to get back to having fun on the pitch. It's a massive opportunity for the Dutch international to prove he belongs in the lineup after being cast aside by Xavi for much of this season so far. Real Madrid, meanwhile, are charging ahead in Champions League action but will want to maintain control of La Liga given that's really all Barcelona have left to play for. Barcelona all but confirmed a second consecutive group stage exit in the Champions League on Wednesday, meaning they will likely begin to prioritize La Liga, which makes this match extra important. El Clasico is back to being a top-of-the-table clash as Real Madrid and Barcelona enter the match tied atop La Liga.

For a few years, El Clasico hadn't produced classics. Vinicius and Federico Valverde are elevating it — and elevating Real Madrid — once again.

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Barcelona coach Xavi said Real Madrid beat his team in the Clasico because they were more mature.

"The season is very long, sometimes you're down, but we have to be strong, keep believing, working, I don't know any other way to get to success. "We have to mature. "We competed worse than our opponents, that's why we lost the game.

From Madrid bossing Barca in the Clasico, to Union being the surprise Bundesliga leaders, there's no shortage of drama in ESPN's weekend review.

In the middle of that was the cheekiest of goals from Eintracht playmaker [Jesper Lindstrom](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/278822/Jesper-Lindstrom), a bit of decoration on top of a dominant display. [Denmark](/soccer/team?id=479) international notched the third goal of a game that never seemed close, stealing in behind [Piero Hincapie](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/292062/Piero-Hincapié) after a sloppy passage of play before calmly chipping it beyond a dazed and confused [Lukas Hradecky](https://www.espn.com.au/soccer/player/_/id/134169/lukas-hradecky) from a narrow angle. [Ruthless Real show how far Barcelona have to go](/soccer/spanish-laliga/story/4771670/ruthless-real-madrid-show-how-far-barcelona-have-to-go-yet) [Speaking to ESPN ahead of the Clasico](/soccer/barcelona-espbarcelona/story/4770194/barcelonas-pedri-on-clasico-showdown-at-real-madrid-we-must-move-on-from-champions-league-drama), Barca midfielder [Pedri](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/250465/Pedri) conceded that the team are easily bruised when they concede. [Villarreal](/soccer/team?id=102), Athletic Club, Bayern Munich and [Valencia](/soccer/team?id=94) are all to come before the end of the month. [Ligue 1](/soccer/league/_/name/fra.1) giants [Paris Saint-Germain](/soccer/team?id=160) and [Marseille](/soccer/team?id=176) -- the first of the 2022-2023 campaign -- felt a bit like old times. [Janik Haberer](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/170604/Janik-Haberer)'s two goals in the opening 21 minutes were sufficient to take all three points. [St Johnstone](/soccer/club/_/id/267/st-johnstone) in mid-August, so he needed to end his goal drought quickly. And he did so in spectacular style to help Rangers on the way to a win that moved Giovanni van Bronckhorst's team to within two points of leaders [Celtic](/soccer/team?id=256). [Sassuolo](/soccer/team?id=3997) left-back's volley is one of the most beautiful, most pure, most powerful, most sensational strikes you will see all season. They produced a performance in the image of some of the best Simeone sides throughout the years, though, digging in to repel Athletic's constant attacks and secure a [1-0](/soccer/report?gameId=643853) win thanks to a goal from [Antoine Griezmann](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/140416/Antoine-Griezmann). [LaLiga](/soccer/league/_/name/esp.1), which is just how [Atletico Madrid](/soccer/team?id=1068) coach Diego Simeone likes it. [Athletic Club](/soccer/team?id=93) at San Mames, a ground they had not won at in over five years.

It's Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the world of football. Jump to: Clasico fall-out | Liverpool beat Man City | Juventus get a win | ...

[Olivier Giroud](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/88965/Olivier-Giroud) (who is now 36) and [Zlatan Ibrahimovic](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/11001/Zlatan-Ibrahimovic) (who is 41 and has yet to play this season). [Antoine Griezmann](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/140416/Antoine-Griezmann) and Atleti needed to dig deep to resist the late Bilbao onslaught, with Reinildo channeling his inner [Diego Godin](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/104564/Diego-Godín). [Richarlison](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/156799/Richarlison) went down injured early in the second half, he sent on [Yves Bissouma](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/232810/Yves-Bissouma) and switched to a 3-5-2. Playing him up front, with [Sadio Mane](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/169797/Sadio-Mané) wide and Sane through the middle -- has to be tempting, but then where do you put [Jamal Musiala](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/303821/Jamal-Musiala)? [Newcastle United](/soccer/team?id=361) are a good side who played well, [Manchester United](/soccer/team?id=360) won the xG battle and [Marcus Rashford](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/230945/Marcus-Rashford)'s header at the end could have won the game. We see little of this in the current Barca side, despite the fact that in [Pedri](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/250465/Pedri) and [Gavi](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/323702/Gavi) he has the players to do it. [Eric Garcia](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/128714/Eric-García) is what he is, [Sergi Roberto](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/150225/Sergi-Roberto) is a makeshift right-back and unless [Ronald Araujo](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/270821/Ronald-Araújo) and [Jules Kounde](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/231692/Jules-Koundé) are both fit at the same time, this side is bound to be vulnerable. [Harvey Elliott](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/280806/Harvey-Elliott) (who was excellent) in midfield and [James Milner](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/26843/James-Milner) at right-back -- and they mostly paid off. And while they showed more drive and cohesion after the break, this set-up -- with [Filip Kostic](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/174496/Filip-Kostic) as a winger in a 4-3-3 -- is not the answer. From Salah's first-half chance (brilliantly saved by [Ederson](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/176948/Ederson)) to [Diogo Jota](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/208133/Diogo-Jota)'s header on the one hand, to [Erling Haaland](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/253989/Erling-Haaland)'s chances and [Phil Foden](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/250787/Phil-Foden)'s disallowed goal, which so incensed Pep Guardiola, on the other. [Ansu Fati](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/292957/Ansu-Fati)). So much of their play goes through [Ousmane Dembele](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/229744/Ousmane-Dembélé) on the left and [Raphinha](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/231050/Raphinha) on the right to the point that the midfield is often a bit player in terms of offering penetration.

The Real Madrid forward won the voting after a season when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were nowhere in sight. Barcelona's Alexia Putellas repeated as ...

That he has had to wait so long to flourish on his own accord is a measure of the height of the bar set by Messi and Ronaldo, and of the challenge of thriving in an era marked by twin greats. Benzema may not have been the decisive player in the Champions League final, an honor that fell to his teammate Vinícius Júnior, but he had unquestionably been the defining figure in Real’s journey to the final in Paris. When that advantage seemed to have been wasted in the return fixture, it was Benzema who lifted Real Madrid once more, scoring the extra-time goal that sealed its place in the semifinal. Benzema joined Real Madrid in the same summer as Ronaldo, though to rather less fanfare. And yet that assessment risks not only turning Benzema’s triumph into a subplot in a story of Messi and Ronaldo’s fall, but also ignoring the context for his victory. Benzema did not win the Ballon d’Or because Messi and Ronaldo finally fell to earth. (Benzema’s Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric was the other exception, in 2018.) It is the first time since 2006 that neither man has at least been on the podium. The blunt measures, of course, are the trophies — his fifth Champions League, another Spanish title — and the goals: 27 in La Liga, 15 in just a dozen games in Europe. Ferré hoped that measure — clearly directed at what might be regarded as legacy voters for Messi and Ronaldo — would make the Ballon d’Or an “open competition, rather than a preserve.” It is, after all, only the second time since 2008 that a player other than Messi or Ronaldo has been anointed as the best on the planet. (Ferré, more than a little disparagingly, said this new “elite” panel represented the “real connoisseurs” of the game.) But the tournament is a feeling that money can’t buy,

Karim Benzema was awarded the 2022 men's Ballon d'Or on Monday after leading Real Madrid to a Champions League and LaLiga double.

He succeeds Barca teammate [Pedri](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/250465/Pedri), last year's winner. [Bayern Munich](/soccer/team?id=132)'s [Sadio Mane](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/169797/Sadio-Mané) and [Manchester City](/soccer/team?id=382)'s [Kevin de Bruyne](http://www.espnfc.com/socer/player/_/id/134947/kevin-de-bruyne), who came in second and third, respectively. Ballon d'Or organisers added a humanitarian prize named after the late Brazil midfielder Socrates. [Robert Lewandowski](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/125824/Robert-Lewandowski) won the Gerd Muller award for the best striker of the year, and Madrid's [Thibaut Courtois](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/134283/Thibaut-Courtois) won the Lev Yashin for best goalkeeper. [Borussia Dortmund](/soccer/team?id=124)'s [Jude Bellingham](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/291281/Jude-Bellingham) and [Bayern Munich](/soccer/team?id=132)'s [Jamal Musiala](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/303821/Jamal-Musiala). It's a lot of work; I never gave up and I kept that dream in my head. It's been difficult for me and that just makes me stronger mentally. "I had two role models in my life: Zizou [Zinedine Zidane] and [Brazil legend] Ronaldo. "I'm really proud seeing this prize, it's been my dream since I was a kid. [Gavi](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/323702/Gavi) won the Kopa Trophy, the award presented to the best player under age 21. "It's been difficult for me. PSG striker [Kylian Mbappe](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/231388/Kylian-Mbappé) came in sixth, while [Manchester United](/soccer/team?id=360) forward [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/22774/Cristiano-Ronaldo) was 20th.

Karim Benzema has been named Ballon d'Or winner for 2022, with the Real Madrid striker considered to have been the best player on the planet.

Other iconic performers to have taken the top prize on multiple occasions include Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Franz Beckenbauer, Ronaldo and Alfredo Di Stefano. He has now been recognised as the world’s best by his peers, with competition from the likes of Mohamed Salah, Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland seen off to land the prestigious Golden Ball. The 34-year-old found the target on 27 occasions in the Spanish top flight last season and 15 times in European competition.