Barcelona

After Lionel Messi clinched a last-second victory in El Clasico on Sunday with his 500th career goal for Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo threw a fit.

Not sure whether Ronaldo was more annoyed at losing #ElClasico or the fact that Messi took the limelight again. pic.twitter.com/ZgdJerbFpq

There isn’t a more exhaustive match in the world than El Clasico — it consistently provides high-stakes, supercharged emotions and scintillating football from the world’s best players. It also has the distinction of pitting two clubs that loath one another in a physical, no-holds-barred and often controversial battle between international teammates.

Spain rely so heavily on drawing players from these two club that there’s always that boiling subplot to analyze and critique, especially as we approach another World Cup year. 

Lionel Messi's 500th Barcelona goal was scored in the 91st minute of El Clasico to defeat Real Madrid, 3-2. 

First, a note about the losers: Real Madrid were the better side for most of the game. They were more organized and more aggressive, even snatching an equalizer while playing with 10 men. It looked like Real would win it for a bit there, as they were entirely on the front foot in the latter stages of the game. But Real Madrid did not win this game. They did not win this game because they do not have Lionel Messi, and Barcelona do.

El Clasico is off to a hot start. It's 1-1 at the half via goals from Casemiro and Messi.

The Brazilian defensive midfielder opened the scoring with a rebound from a Sergio Ramos chance.

El Clasico is this weekend, and we happen to have some Real Madrid and Barcelona partisans on the staff here at The18. So we asked Bryce (a Barcelona fan) and Javier (a Real Madrid fan) to write about why the opposing team will win on Sunday.

Why Real Madrid Will Win El Clasico

By Bryce Badwan