Barcelona defeat Real Madrid 3-0 in 270th El Clasico meeting

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain on Saturday in the first El Clasico encounter of the season.

After a goalless first-half, Barcelona striker Luis Suarez opened the scoring in the 54th minute after a string of passes from the Catalan club.

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi doubled Barcelona’s lead from the penalty spot after Real Madrid’s Daniel Carvajal was sent off for handling the ball in his box.

Substitute Aleix Vidal added a third in stoppage time to seal the victory for Barcelona.

Speaking to Kurdistan 24 before the match, Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez said he was confident his team could compete against their rivals where a win would have put Madrid eight points behind Barcelona, with a game in hand.

Saturday’s loss means Madrid remain fourth in the table, 14 points behind league leaders Barcelona.

The Real Madrid President also thanked his club’s supporters in the Kurdistan Region, adding he “shared in their excitement” for the El Clasico.

In a previous interview, Pérez told Kurdistan 24 he had heard about the Kurds and Kurdistan during the war against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq.

In the 269 previous meetings between the two sides in all competitions, Barcelona has won 111 matches while Real Madrid has won 99.

However, in the 175 Spanish league encounters, Real Madrid edges it with 72 wins over Barcelona’s 70.

The teams have scored a combined total of 913 goals.

Saturday’s tie was not without controversy as tensions between the two clubs had risen following Madrid’s 2017 FIFA Club World Cup triumph against Brazilian side Gremio last week.

The Real Madrid players, who returned to Spain having won the trophy in Abu Dhabi, said they expected a guard of honor from Barcelona, a gesture the Catalan club’s players refused.

Hundreds of people gather in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, to watch the El Clasico match.