El Clasico concluded with zero goals, as protests puts pressure on match

A night in Barcelona, when 22 men failed to score in the most anticipated football clash in the world, the game triggers off-stadium pro-independence demonstrations. On Wednesday in El Clasico, Real Madrid and Barcelona played a scoreless draw for the first time in 17 years since November 23, 2002. The two teams stay unchanged at the summit of the La Liga standings.

The rivals started the day tied with 35 points, but either could not lift three points in the table. Both teams saw the lines stripped of any golden opportunities. In the whole game, there were only six shots on goal, with Madrid having four.

The match has been postponed since October due to the violent protests in the Catalan area. Regardless of overwhelming police closeness, some of them hindered a significant road close to the arena, upsetting traffic on top of things. Moments before the match started, Catalan police separated the battle that flared between protestors, some of who are Barcelona fans.

Post-match, the PA advised the supporters multiple times not to exit from the south finish of the arena, where smoke rose over the stands. It happened during the game that had been politically charged, with reports proposing 46 individuals had been harmed. However, the teams remain tied in La Liga on points by both winning one each, with Barca enjoying the advantage with goal differential.

The world’s largest club rivalry, a match that has produced 126 goals in the past decade alone, has created none here. Only Gareth Bale of Real Madrid found the net, but it was ruled out, leaving both teams with one point each. None found a way through, and no one looked especially likely to do either as time ticked away.

The coaches for both teams had something to share about the match. Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said, “We put in a great performance, and the only thing that was missing was a goal.” While Barca coach Ernesto Valverde noted his players had not been influenced. “Yet, it wound up a curiously level event, played 53 days after it was initially planned,” he added.