On Saturday, Real Madrid will make the trip to Camp Nou for the first Clasico of this season. Although there are many aspects to Los Blancos’ clashes with Barcelona, it has been narrowed down to one thing since two seasons back: MSN vs. BBC.
Fans got tired of the Messi vs. Cristiano debate and instead went looking for a new one: which of the two clubs’ attacking trio rules supreme? The Catalan giants boast Leo, Suarez, and Neymar; Les Merengues have Bale, Benzema, and Ronaldo.
Capable of tearing apart even the toughest of opponents, we compare their two numbers and go in search of the better trio so far this season.
Goals, goals, and more goals
Since goals are what almost everyone looks for in attackers, we’ll kick off our analysis with that. Currently, Cristiano Ronaldo sits on top of the goalscoring chart with 10 strikes, followed by Lionel Messi (9), and Luis Suarez (8). However, the collective – not individual – numbers is our focus.
Cristiano knows very well how to score in El Clasico
CR7 is the all-time top scorer in the Madrid derby, and needs a hat-trick to become the all-time top scorer for Real Madrid in El Clasico. pic.twitter.com/uYjNLxQFVn
— LiveSoccerTV.com (@LiveSoccerTV) November 30, 2016
Neymar has not been prolific in front of goal, but the shortcomings of Benzema and Bale sees MSN take this one home. The Barca trio have netted 21 times in the league, compared to BBC’s 19. It’s a mere two-goal difference, but an advantage nonetheless.
How many of the teams’ goals have MSN and BBC scored?
MSN: 21 out of Barca 33 league goals (63.6%)
BBC: 19 out of Real Madrid’s 36 goals (52.7%)
Goals per minute
The fact that Bale and Benzema have been injured or benched on several occasions this season should be factored in. The man who has the most minutes played is Neymar (990), whilst Benzema (560) sits dead bottom.
Minutes played in La Liga this season
MSN: 2653 minutes
BBC: 2346 minutes
This means that MSN average a goal approximately every 126 minutes; BBC, on the other hand, score once every 123 minutes. It’s a small difference, but as earlier, an advantage nonetheless.
MSN vs. BBC (infographic via My Soccer HQ)
Who assists more?
MSN: 53 key passes, 64 created chances
BBC: 29 key passes, 34 created chances
Why does MSN blow BBC away in both key passes and chances created? The answer in one word is Neymar. The Brazilian ace has 28 key passes under his belt and has created 32 chances – twice just one short of matching both BBC’s numbers.
In assists, the Selecao captain’s tally of five is the same as Cristiano (2), Benzema (1), and Bale (2) combined. Throw La Pulga and his Uruguayan buddy into the mix and MSN have set up 11 goals.
Neymar in all competitions
Neymar:
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) November 27, 2016
Not scored in last 7 apps, worst non-scoring run of Barca career
13 assists this season, 6 more than any other Barca player#LaLiga pic.twitter.com/wTO3ekbkPb
Barca’ trio have won in two of the three categories. If you think that is bad for Real Madrid, you’re wrong. What’s really bad for Zinedine Zidane’s boys is…
Gareth Bale is not playing!
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