How many viewers watched recent El Clásico games?
The biggest domestic game in global football took place on Sunday night at the Santiago Bernabéu as Real Madrid were trounced by Barcelona.
LaLiga’s top marksman Karim Benzema was absent for Sunday’s El Clásico after a calf injury picked up in Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Mallorca last Monday. The Frenchman scored in the win at Son Moix but the niggle ruled him out of the clash with Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu, which the visitors convincingly won 4-0.
Title grip consolidation
Real Madrid headed into the contest against Barcelona knowing that a win would cement their candidacy as LaLiga 2021-22 champions.
Despite the drubbing, Carlo Ancelotti's men still lead the standings with a nine-point advantage over second-placed Sevilla and 12 points over Barça.
Real Madrid had won the past five Clásico meetings, and Ancelotti noted: "It doesn't change anything that we have an important advantage, it's good at this point in the season," Ancelotti said after Mallorca, insisting that "it doesn't change anything, we have to win on Sunday."
Barça bounce
After an indifferent start to the 2021-22 campaign under Ronald Koeman, Xavi has transformed FC Barcelona and unbeaten in ten LaLiga matches, eight of which have been wins.
Barça were buoyed by their 2-1 win at Galatasaray on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League, where they are the only Spanish survivors.
"Today is a turning point for the project, for the group and for continuing to grow," said Barça coach Xavi Hernandez, who has managed to transform the Catalan side's season.
Global viewers
El Clasico is watched in over 180 countries with recent games generating a global audience in excess of 650 million viewers.
“With more than 2.5 billion viewers around the world last season, LaLiga clearly is a competition with a global following,” said LaLiga president Javier Tebas. “Every weekend LaLiga provides hours of excitement and entertainment to fans. El Clasico always lives up to its name as one of the biggest and most-watched matchups in our competition.”