EL CLÁSICO
El Clásico: what is the record between Real Madrid and Barcelona in the US?
Miami hosted Real Madrid against Barcelona for El Clásico in 2017 and Las Vegas was the setting for the sides in 2022.
Dallas will be the setting for the next El Clásico to be played in the United States. The American city joins Miami and Las Vegas as the only US locations that have hosted a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona outside of Spain and Saudi Arabia. The Spanish Super Cup has been held in Saudi Arabia from 2020 until now except for 2021 due to the pandemic and it was subsequently held on Andalusian soil). There was also a friendly played between the sides at the beginning of the 1980s in Venezuela. And Real Madrid’s record has been good - they have not won in either of the two clashes on American soil.
The first Clásico played outside of Spain was held in Barquisimeto (located 370 kilometres from Caracas), in Venezuela, on 31 May 1982, just a few days before the start of the World Cup in Spain (13 June). It was the match for third and fourth place in the Copa del Presidente de la República, which was being held in the Venezuelan town. Prior to the game, Inter had eliminated Madrid and Porto had eliminated Barcelona. Los Blancos won by the narrowest of margins thanks to a goal from Vicente del Bosque, who headed the ball home from a corner. There were only 700 spectators in the stands.
First Clásico in US
The first meeting between Madrid and Barcelona in the US was in Miami in 2017. Barcelona came out on top, winning 3-2 at the Hard Rock Stadium. After just 15 minutes, the scoreboard read 2-1 to the Blaugrana, with goals from Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic, before Mateo Kovacic pulled one back. Marco Asensio equalised and defender Gerard Piqué (after a Marc Anthony performance for the more than 60,000 spectators in the stadium) scored to make it 3-2. Two weeks later, Los Blancos defeated the Catalans in the two Super Cup matches.
Latest El Clásico meeting
The second and last match between the sides was played last year in Las Vegas. It was also a fun spectacle for fans and ended in a 1-0 win for the Blaugrana. This time it was thanks to a goal by Raphinha and 60,299 spectators turned out as Xavi’s team recorded the narrow victory.