BARCA 1-1 MADRID: FIRST TIMERS, VAZQUEZ AND MALCOM SHINE IN A LESS EXCITING CLASICO THAT REVEALS MESSI IS HUMAN

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Joseph Omoniyi

No Ronaldo. Messi started from the bench in the 63^rd minute, but he made no serious impact in the game that had Barca forcing Real Madrid to a draw at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night.

Lucas Vazquez’s early goal on Wednesday continued the Blancos’ trend of scoring at Camp Nou.

Real Madrid extended their record run of scoring in away matches against their great rivals Barcelona.

Lucas Vazquez netted in the sixth minute of Wednesday’s Copa del Rey semi-final first leg at Barcelona, with Malcom scoring in the second half in an eventual 1-1 draw at Camp Nou.

It was Vazquez’s first El Clasico goal in his seventh appearance in the fixture.

With the Spain international’s goal, Real Madrid have extended their record for consecutive away matches at Barcelona with a goal, having now netted in 15 straight games and scoring a total of 26 times in those matches.

Sergio Ramos also grabbed a piece of history in Wednesday’s game as the 32-year-old became the record-holder for the most appearances in El Clasico in all competitions in the 21st century.

With his 40th El Clasico appearance, Ramos surpassed Barcelona legend Xavi in that category.

Wednesday marked Madrid’s second match at Camp Nou this season. The Blancos did manage to score in their October La Liga fixture in Barcelona, but that was the only bright spot in a 5-1 defeat to the Blaugrana.

That match resulted in Julen Lopetegui being sacked as Madrid boss with Santiago Solari taking his place.

Solari’s team fared much better than his predecessor’s on Wednesday, setting up a blockbuster second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on February 27.