Real Madrid suffered a narrow Clasico loss to Barcelona that essentially ends their title hopes, with Karim Benzema enduring a night to forget.
Karim Benzema picked one hell of a night to put in perhaps his most toothless display of the season as Real Madrid were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti's team fell 12 points behind their Clasico rivals as they surrendered an early lead to fall behind right at the death at Camp Nou.
Benzema was particularly weak as he was unable to get into space in the Barca box, while the evening would have been much worse for his side were it not for Thibaut Courtois, who was a rock in goal for most of the game.
GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from Camp Nou…
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Thibaut Courtois (8/10):
Had a fantastic game for the most part but could do little to keep out Sergi Roberto's equaliser.
Dani Carvajal (6/10):
Looked shaky in spells but chipped in with an assist late on before the goal was chalked off for offside.
Eder Militao (7/10):
Fought hard from start to finish as always.
Antonio Rudiger (7/10):
Was strong in the battle against Robert Lewandowski, putting his pace to good use to ensure the Poland striker had no time on the ball.
Nacho Fernandez (4/10):
Did not look good up against Raphinha. Let the winger get in behind him as he stood ball-watching one too many times.
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Luka Modric (6/10):
Some decent passes from the veteran but not a vintage performance as he was rightly taken off after 76 minutes.
Eduardo Camavinga (7/10):
Plenty of movement to ensure he was available as a passing option and kept the ball circulating in midfield.
Toni Kroos (4/10):
Turned too easily by Robert Lewandowski early on which set the tone as he always seemed behind the pace on and off the ball.
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Fede Valverde (6/10):
Was quiet in the beginning and improved slightly when he moved to the midfield.
Karim Benzema (4/10):
A toothless performance. He was unable to get many touches inside the Barcelona box as he was kept quiet throughout.
Vinicius Junior (6/10):
Gave Madrid the lead against the run of play with a lucky deflection but was not much of a direct threat otherwise.
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Ferland Mendy (6/10):
Took Nacho's place in the second half and was an easy upgrade.
Rodrygo (6/10):
Came on for Kroos after the hour mark and his drive forward helped make the disallowed goal.
Aurelien Tchouameni (6/10):
Looked lively as a late introduction, proving he should have come on earlier.
Marco Asensio (7/10):
Made a quick impact when he snuck into space to score, but was upset as VAR ruled him offside.
Dani Ceballos (6/10):
Played for the last 15 minutes and looked up for the fight immediately.
Carlo Ancelotti (5/10):
His team were second best for a lot of the game, taking the lead against the run of play and ending up behind. The changes he made in the second half appeared to have turned the game in their favour but Asensio was offside for the goal, allowing Barca to go on to claim the winner.
