(Football news) We are on the brink of a new edition of the most eagerly awaited match-up in LaLiga Santander and what better way to whet our appetite than by taking a look back at the record breakers who have made history in the ElClasico duels of the 21st century. Here are eight records which have defined the era.
Karim Benzema holds the record for netting the fastest ElClasico goal in LaLiga Santander in the 21st century. The Lyon-born striker once took just 21 seconds to beat the FC Barcelona goalkeeper and enter the history books of LaLiga Santander’s ElClasico. Although the Real Madrid frontman put his team in the ascendency in the very first minute of the 90 that day, it wouldn’t be enough for his team to take home the three points on offer on Matchday 16 of the 2011/12 season, with Los Blancos ending up suffering a 3-1 reverse to Los Blaugranas. It was so little reward for the Frenchman who still holds the record!
The most prolific LaLiga ElClasico in terms of the number of goals scored was in the 1934/35 season, when Real Madrid thrashed FC Barcelona 8-2 thanks to four goals from Fernando Sañudo, a Jaime Lazcano hat-trick and a goal by Luis Regueiro. Meanwhile, the biggest hiding handed out by FC Barcelona to Los Blancos was in the 1950/51 season, when they beat their arch-rivals 7-2. In this century, the biggest drubbing doled out in ElClasico was when Pep Guardiola’s Barça won 5-0 at home on November 29th 2010.
The player who has scored the most goals in ElClasico in the 23 years of this century is Lionel Messi. The Rosario-born legend simply couldn’t get enough of scoring in ElClasico! He managed to net 18 goals against Real Madrid in LaLiga Santander, producing two hat-tricks and a further three braces.
Always a fundamental part of his team’s play and with a record of nine final passes, Lionel Messi is also the top assist-provider in ElClasico over the course of this century. He tops the ranking by some margin, having produced three more assists than both Xavi Hernández and Sergi Roberto on six. It’s another record for the Argentine, who not only scored goals, but also kept busy helping his teammates find the back of the net.
At 17 years and 48 days, Ansu Fati became the youngest player to play in ElClasico in LaLiga Santander in the 21st century. The Catalan club’s striker scooped up the record in 2019, deposing fellow Barça striker Bojan Krkić. And it doesn’t end there, because in the first ElClasico of 2020/21, played at the Spotify Camp Nou, he became the youngest ever player to score in this historic fixture. Two records in quick succession for the talented frontman!
The keeper with the highest number of clean sheets is Víctor Valdés. The former FC Barcelona shot-stopper avoided having to fish the ball out of the back of his own net in seven different LaLiga Santander ElClasico games this century.
The player who has had the honour of playing in ElClasico on the most occasions is Sergio Busquets, as the Barça captain has played in this rivalry 46 times. However, if we focus just on league matches, there are three Los Blancos players who top the rankings: Sergio Ramos, with 31 games, is level with two other capital-club legends in the form of Paco Gento and Raúl González.
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