Barcelona trio Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar flat in Clasico loss

Despite Gerard Pique scoring the opener shortly after the half-time break, Barcelona were defeated by a 10-men Real Madrid at the Camp Nou in round 31 of La Liga. The Blaugrana, who enjoyed 61 percent of possession, created 14 goalscoring chances and attempted 10 shots, three of them on target.

The visitors started the game by closing their lines in their own defensive third and not taking any unnecessary risks unless given a clear chance to counterattack. Barca succeeded in recovering control quickly whenever dispossessed and piled constant pressure in the visitors' defensive third in the opening stages. However, the Catalans did not always succeed in ensuring the ball flowed as fluently as necessary.

With the Catalans controlling the game but frustratingly failing to put the visitors under enough pressure, it was not surprising that the scoreboard reflected a dull 0-0 at half-time. In what was certainly a frustrating turn of events, Barca's bizarre lack of ambition after the break resulted in Los Blancosbecoming increasingly dangerous on the counter as the game developed. As it couldn't be any different, Madrid's forwards took advantage of the many spaces they were granted and walked away with the three points under their belt.

The great Johan Cruyff would not have been too pleased with Barca's performance on Saturday, but Barcelona's chances of retaining their domestic league crown are far better than anyone could have predicted at this stage. With seven more La Liga rounds to be played, Barca now have a six point advantage over Atletico Madrid and seven over Madrid. So despite Cules'obvious frustration following their first loss after a 39-game unbeaten run, Luis Enrique's side are still in a privileged position to retain the title.