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.
