Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: The 3 Biggest Games in Recent El Clasico History

The biggest game in Spanish football—perhaps in European football—is fast approaching, with El Clasico on the horizon: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, which takes place at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

As usual it will be a telling battle in the story of the title for La Liga, even this early into the season; Real are top, six points clear of Barca (and Sevilla), and taking a victory on enemy turf could already put Los Blancos into an unassailable lead.

It promises to be fiercely combative and tense, and—considering the players on show—it should also be full of the wonderful technique and offensive playing styles for which the two sides are noted.

However, it will have to go some way to match up to some of the best and biggest Clasicos in recent history, though it’s not out of the question with Barca struggling for top form, Real unbeaten this season and the prospect of a nine-point gap opening up.

#OnThisDay 11 years ago.The Bernabeu stood to applaud Ronaldinho after he did THIS to #RealMadrid for #FCBarcelona.#LaLiga #ElClasico pic.twitter.com/kmmFs68f5c

— Omnisport (@OmnisportNews) November 19, 2016

Here are three of the biggest we’ve been privileged to witness.

2005: Real Madrid 4-2 Barcelona

Turn the clock back to the 2004/05 season and we faced a reversed situation, if a lot further on in the campaign: Barcelona were top of the table, nine points clear of second-placed Real.

Perhaps it wasn’t a surprise that Real lagged behind that year; inconsistency on the pitch was matched by a scattergun approach off it, as club president Florentino Perez sacked Jose Antonio Camacho, appointed Mariano Garcia Remon, then gave him the boot too and appointed Vanderlei Luxemburgo—all before the new year. The latter helped the side finish the season unbeaten in 10 games, including El Clasico.

With only eight matches left to play, a win for Los Cules would almost certainly have guaranteed the title; Real were having none of that, though, especially on home soil.

They came out all guns blazing and took an early lead through Zinedine Zidane—then midfield …

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