Marcelo makes crucial tackle on Lionel Messi, celebrates wildly during El Clasico

Real Madrid defender Marcelo was in top form against Barcelona. He displayed some great defensive skills, particularly to stop Lionel Messi from troubling Thibaut Courtois in goal. Zinedine Zidane’s side went on to win El Clasico and reclaimed the top spot on the LaLiga points table.

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Real Madrid vs Barcelona highlights: Marcelo tackles Lionel Messi

Real Madrid were leading in the game courtesy of Vinicius Jr’s goal in the 71st minute. Just three minutes later, Lionel Messi received a through ball from Antoine Griezmann. Real Madrid defenders were caught off guard and Marcelo was the lone defender at the back. However, the Brazilian went on to chase Messi and tackled him down just outside the penalty box to avoid a goal-scoring situation. After the tackle, Marcelo celebrated wildly, signifying the importance of the tackle on the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.

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Real Madrid vs Barcelona highlights: El Clasico 2020 result

In the first half of the game, the two sides failed to score as Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois produced some exceptional saves continuing his great form between the sticks. The Belgian international denied Lionel Messi and Arthur to avoid any advantage to the visitors. Meanwhile, Marc-Andre ter Stegen also displayed some great effort against Los Blancos.

However, in the second half, Real Madrid came with a more attacking mindset against Barcelona. Vinicius Jr opened the scoring for Los Blancos in the 71st minute. Toni Kroos provided a sublime pass to the 19-year-old winger who was unmarked by Barcelona defenders. Vinicius struck a cross that was deflected by Gerard Pique into the net. 

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Real Madrid vs Barcelona highlights: Mariano scores in injury time

In the injury time of the game, Los Blancos striker Mariano (who was introduced as a substitute) struck the second goal of the night for Zidane. The victory takes Real Madrid to the top spot on the LaLiga points table with a one-point advantage over Barcelona.

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