Army game with a leg injury, and center Austin Davis also de

Barcelona hammered Real Madrid 4-0 at the Bernabeu in November with a performance which boss Luis Enrique said would go down in history. A double from Luis Suarez and further goals from Neymar and Andres Iniesta humiliated the hosts and moved Barca six points clear at the top of La Liga. They did it without Lionel Messi for much of the game too, with the Argentina ace only making his return from injury 57 minutes in.A rash challenge from Isco, which saw him sent off, capped a miserable night for the hosts and the Madrid fans jeered Real boss Rafa Benitez before the full-time whistle was even blown. But how did Barca pull off the victory? And what went so wrong for Real Madrid?Here, ahead of Saturdays El Clasico, we look back at the first meeting between the sides this season and pick out the key factors in Barcelonas remarkable win… Watch highlights of Barcelonas 4-0 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu Team selectionAhead of the match there was intense speculation on whether Messi would return from a knee problem to take on Real Madrid and his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Ultimately, Messi started on the bench and Sergi Roberto was given a chance to impress. But it was the team selection of hosts Real Madrid which proved to be more decisive.Benitez opted to drop defensive midfielder Casemiro to make way for James Rodriguez. It left Real unbalanced and unable to boss the midfield battle. Jamie Carragher was unimpressed with the selection and suggested it was an uncharacteristic move from Benitez. Jamie Carragher picks apart what went wrong for Real Madrid in their 4-0 defeat to Barcelona Thats not a team Rafa would pick, Carragher said when analysing the game on Monday Night Football. Either the people above him have got involved or maybe hes bowed to media pressure or the players, I just dont know.You look at the team and hes not gone in with a holding midfield player - Rafa would normally play two. His best player this season has been Casemiro and hes left him out. I dont know if theres something where hes maybe getting pressure from the owner - weve bought these big stars and they need to play - and hes said ok lets play them against Barcelona, thats what happens. You see the results.Attitude from Reals players Gareth Bale tries to chase down Lionel Messi While the balance of the Real team may not have been right, what cant be denied is they fielded and XI bursting with quality. The problem was their application. There was a clear split in the Real Madrid team between attack and defence, with the hosts seemingly playing a 4-2-4 for much of the game. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos were left exposed in midfield and Barcelona were able to capitalise.They looked like the team had broken in two, Carragher said. There was a big gap between attack and defence and it was a bit like watching a Sunday league game. People just waiting up front. Were talking about world class stars. There was no intensity.Your nightmare as a player, as a midfield two, is playing against Barcelona and your front four arent willing to help you out. What can be worse than that? This type of game is not about the tactics. At one point you need to bring the desire and the right commitment on the field and the right intensity. It wasnt there at all [from Real Madrid]. Thierry Henry Thierry Henry was equally unimpressed with the attitude from Reals players and said that their failure to apply themselves appropriately left Benitez no way to influence the encounter.This type of game is not about the tactics, the former Barcelona forward told Sky Sports. At one point you need to bring the desire and the right commitment on the field and the right intensity. It wasnt there at all [from Real Madrid]. You cant play a Clasico like that.People are going to talk about Benitez and the tactics but the tactics come along when both teams desire and commitment is there and the game is tight. Then the boss will have to trigger one, two or three things to see whos going to be the best boss. But if your team goes out there without the right desire or commitment it becomes really difficult for the coach.Im not trying to find any excuses for Benitez but first and foremost you need to bring the desire on the field. You saw a team on one side and on the other side you see a group of players playing for themselves and not being a team at the moment. It was a collective thing. At the end of the day hes [Benitez] going to maybe take the blame. They ultimately failed as a team today. They didnt play well. Terry Gibson analyses Real Madrids tactical errors in El Clasico Barcelonas brillianceWhile much of the post-game reaction focused on Real Madrids shortcomings and the impact the result would have on Benitezs future, Barcelonas exceptional performance should not be overlooked.Suarez was clinical in attack, converting two of his four shots, while Neymar conjured up twice as many key passes as any other player on the pitch. Ivan Rakitic didnt misplace a single pass in Reals half, Sergio Busquets racked up more tackles than anyone else and Gerard Pique was imperious at the back. All in all, it was a superb team performance from the visitors. Luis Suarez hit a brace against Real Madrid I dont think Real Madrid gave up, I just think we were a level above them, was Barca boss Enriques clinical assessment of the contest. We outnumbered them in many areas of the game and we were very effective. The game is more of a reflection of our merits than Madrids faults.This victory tastes glorious because it is against our eternal rivals and, as well as the victory, it will be very difficult for us to better this performance. This game will go down in history; it will be remembered by all Barcelona fans. This squad won the treble last year and it is one of the best squads you could hope for. Terry Gibson reviews Barcelonas tactics in their 4-0 win over Real Madrid Barcelonas commitment For all of Barcelonas eye-catching play, Henry was also keen to highlight their remarkable work rate when they didnt have the ball.Real Madrid recorded a far worse passing accuracy to their rivals (82.6 v 90.2 per cent) and managed just 41.4 per cent of possession. The Catalans intense pressing gave Benitezs men no time on the ball. Guillem Balague and Graham Hunter review Barcelonas win over rivals Real Madrid People always talk about when Barcelona have the ball and how they pass the ball well but they put pressure on, the back line is backing up the midfielders and striker to put pressure on, said Henry.The distances are right between the players. They never give up, they help each other. You even saw Busquets in the 91st minute making a foul. It could have been 4-1 but no, 4-0. The discipline and intensity is key for that team.When you see the likes of Suarez working hard, Neymar working hard, Andres Iniesta working hard, it speaks volumes to the other guys to be better. We dont emphasise enough how Barca is good in those type of situations. Neymar got on the scoresheet at the Bernabeu Contrasting performances from star performers Barcelonas brilliance is built on more than just one man and in the previous nine games, with injured Messi absent, Enriques side had won seven. At the Bernabeu, with the Argentine benched, attacking duo Suarez and Neymar stepped up and delivered once again.The pair scored 18 goals during Messis absence and, with him watching from the dugout, added three more to their tally against Real. Suarezs opener after 11 minutes concluded a brilliant 24-pass team move.For Real, Ronaldo could easily have made his way onto the scoresheet had it not been for two brilliant stops from Claudio Bravo - but the hosts key man was unable to influence proceedings as he would have liked. Ronaldo only managed two shots at goal in the entire game and produced just one pass leading to a shooting opportunity. The defeat heaped pressure on then Real boss Rafa Benitez While he struggled, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez failed to make their mark, too. The trio only managed to work Bravo four times between them.The performance of the latter three players raises questions about whether they were physically ready for the intensity of a Clasico, given they had all been sidelined with injury in the weeks leading up to the game. Since the start of October Real Madrid played seven games but of the 1890 minutes the trio could have racked up, they had managed just 309.Gareth Bale was the only one to have played a full 90 minutes in that time. He did it just once, in Reals 3-2 defeat to Sevilla in the previous game. In short, most of Reals key attackers were undercooked. Also See: Barca pay tribute to Cruyff Messis 117-game shooting streak ends Cheap Jerseys From China . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. China Jerseys Wholesale . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. China Jerseys Cheap .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. China Jerseys Stitched . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Idle since its comeback effort against Clemson fell short to start the month, Louisville will play its first home game in nearly a month when the No. 7 Cardinals (4-1, 2-1 ACC) host unranked Duke (3-3, 0-2 ACC) in a nationally televised (ESPN) ACC contest at 7 p.m. ET Friday at Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium in Louisville.The Cardinals last home game was Sept. 17 when they blasted Florida State 63-20.Since then, they have been on the road for games at Marshall (a 59-28 win) and Clemson (a 42-36 loss) and then were off last week.It will be good to be back home, Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino said at his weekly press conference. It feels like we havent been home forever. It seems like a long time since we have played here in our stadium so it will feel great to be back here in our home.Though Saturday is college footballs traditional game day, this will be the second Friday night game of the young season for the Cardinals, who beat Syracuse 62-28 back on Sept. 9.I think its great, the night environment, and the crowd, and the excitement for our players, Petrino said. It always gives you a huge advantage to play at home and play under the lights and play with our crowd.So we just have to hopefully come out and have the same type of atmosphere that we had for the Florida State game. Then it is up to us to come out and perform and make plays and play the way that were capable of playing.And the Cardinals are capable of playing very well, especially on offense.With Heisman candidate -- some might say leading contender -- Lamar Jackson leading the way at quarterback, the Cardinals lead the nation in scoring with their 58.0 points-per-game average and also lead in total offense with an average of 659.2 yards per game.Jackson has rushed for a team-best 688 yards (137.6 average per game) and passed for another 1,625, or 325 per game. He has rushed for a remarkable 14 touchdowns and passed for another 14 against only four interceptions.Wide receiver James Quick is his favorite target with 23 receptions for 443 yards and four touchdowns, but another 15 players have at least one catch for the Cardinals.Despite the loss to Clemson in their last outing, the Cardinals remain very much in the nationaal playoff picture and retain hopes that winning out will get them one of the four coveted spots.dddddddddddd.They also remain in contention in the ACCs Atlantic Division race for a spot in the conference championship game but will need to win out and have Clemson lose twice in league play for a shot at that.Duke, which had a signature win at Notre Dame earlier this season, is coming into the game after a 13-6 win over Army that put the Blue Devils back at .500 for the season. The Blue Devils pitched a shutout in the second half as the two teams fought in torrential rain conditions brought on by Hurricane Matthew.The Blue Devils passed for only 44 yards, with quarterback Daniel Jones completing 7 of his 15 pass attempts.Of major concern for coach David Cutcliffs crew is the health of his team.Running back Jela Duncan left the Army game with a leg injury, and center Austin Davis also departed with a leg injury. It appears both players might miss the game at Louisville.Hopefully, we heal quickly, Cutcliffe said. We all know we have a big task in front of us.Davis left in the second quarter against Army. Duncan departed in the third. Duncan is Dukes leading rusher and has scored four touchdowns this season. He carried the ball 10 times for 40 yards against Army. The injury came after he missed the previous game against Virginia with a leg injury.I dont think either one of them are surgical circumstances, Cutcliffe said. That doesnt mean theyre immediately back. And with a short week, you kind of just have to wait and see.At least the Blue Devils have Shaun Wilson, a speedster with experience, to help fill in at tailback, but its more complicated with Davis out of the mix. He has started every game.To adjust against Army, which recorded five sacks against the Blue Devils, left guard Zach Harmon, a redshirt sophomore, moved to center and freshman Julian Santos took over at guard.When a guy like Zach Harmon bumps over there at center and we dont have a single bad snap in that weather, pat him on the back, Cutcliffe said. Thats a big-time effort on his part. ' ' '