Monday 5 December 2016 18:13, UK
Real Madrid’s last-gasp equaliser at Barcelona meant the points were shared in El Clasico on Saturday in an unusually cautious clash between the great rivals.
Luis Suarez did get on the scoresheet early in the second half but that goal was one of only seven shots on target that the two teams managed between them in the match.
That's the lowest in any of the last 10 meetings between the sides and Barca's lowest total in that period too - remarkable given the quality of forwards on the pitch.
The onus was on the home side but they managed only two shots on target. Indeed, Cristiano Ronaldo alone tested the goalkeeper more times than they did as a team.
Madrid were happy to defend with a medium block, only applying pressure when Barcelona crossed the half way line.
Barcelona did not take risks and preferred to find the forwards by bypassing the midfield. All in all it became a conservative Clasico. So the coaches had to do something to change things.
Luis Enrique's team simply does not function as well without Andres Iniesta. It was only when he came on just before the hour mark that Barca really started to play.
Iniesta's pass success of 96 per cent tells some of the story but it was the frequency with which he got on the ball too, completing 26 passes in a little over half an hour.
He created more chances in that cameo than Ivan Rakitic, Andre Gomes, Sergio Busquets and fellow substitute Arda Turan managed in 247 minutes between them.
But more than that, Iniesta's arrival meant everyone in a Barca shirt wanted the ball and none more so than Lionel Messi.
Without a doubt, it was Iniesta's introduction that sparked Messi's best period. The No 10 needs someone to combine with and there's still nobody who does that better than Iniesta.
Interestingly, 16 of Messi's 41 completed passes in the game came in the quarter of an hour after Iniesta came on. Luis Suarez came to life as well. It helped the whole team.
There's been a lot of talk about how Barcelona are all about the front three now but Iniesta's influence here was a reminder that those players still need service.
As for Real Madrid, of course, they have a midfield maestro of their own and it should be no surprise that Luka Modric recently received a new contract at the age of 31.
He was very good at recovering possession for Madrid and the stats show that he made more interceptions than any of his team-mates.
He also completed 59 of his 62 passes, only Busquets on either side found a team-mate more often than that. It gave Zinedine Zidane a little bit of control and kept them in it.
A word too for Marcelo. He was an outlet for his side throughout the game and put in nine crosses - more than any other player on the pitch.
It was Barca's desperation to close him down - and Luis Enrique had told Arda not to foul Real players, especially if they had their back to goal - that led to the equaliser.
Marcelo bought the free-kick and Sergio Ramos headed home the cross from, you guessed it, that man Modric.
That left Luis Enrique feeling understandably down and Zidane relieved. But both coaches will know there is work to do after this most cautious of Clasicos.
