Zinedine Zidane's tactics for Real Madrid's El Clasico win over bitter rivals Barcelona have been leaked to the Spanish press.
Los Blancos won at the Nou Camp despite trailing 1-0 and having a man sent off.
Gerard Pique opened the scoring before Karim Benzema equalised in the second half; Sergio Ramos was then sent off for a second yellow card with just under 10 minutes remaining but Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late winner for Zidane's side.
El Clasico ratingsShow all 22 El Clasico ratings Claudio Bravo – 6 out of 10 Appeared jittery early on when his team-mates were largely keeping Real away from his goal and ultimately could keep the visitors out once the game’s momentum swung the other way.
El Clasico ratings Dani Alves – 5 out of 10 Lost Cristiano Ronaldo at the far post in the closing stages, allowing the Portuguese forward to take his time and place his finish for the winner.
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El Clasico ratings Gerard Pique – 7 out of 10 His fiercely powerful header which broke Real’s resolve was matched by an largely authoritative display but he sold himself short when attempting to meet the cross which led to Benzema’s equaliser.
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El Clasico ratings Javier Mascherano – 5 out of 10 Looked at risk of emulating his Madrid defensive counterparts and letting things get too heated. One of his poorer nights.
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El Clasico ratings Jordi Alba – 6 out of 10 Provided the direct running that his side needed but was suspect at the back. Lucky to see Bale’s goal disallowed after losing a fair aerial duel to the winger.
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El Clasico ratings Sergio Busquets – 6 out of 10 Defensively sound but failed to knit together the play and set his side’s attacking play in motion.
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El Clasico ratings Ivan Rakitic – 8 out of 10 His side’s stand-out performer. At the centre of things in the few moments that Barcelona looked like at their best. Perhaps should have scored from the edge of the box in the first half.
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El Clasico ratings Andres Iniesta – 5 out of 10 Captaining the side, tonight demanded that he grab the game by the scruff of the neck. He didn’t.
El Clasico ratings Lionel Messi – 5 out of 10 A real disappointment. Struggled to exert any influence on the game, save for odd moments where he typically conjured the odd half-chance out of nothing.
El Clasico ratings Luis Suarez – 5 out of 10 Inexplicably missed an early chance under next to no pressure at the far post and it seemed to affect him for the rest of the evening.
El Clasico ratings Neymar – 6 out of 10 The liveliest of Barça’s front three early on but faded as the game progressed, gradually becoming the home side’s forgotten man on the night.
El Clasico ratings Keylor Navas - 7 out of 10 A number of routine yet important saves kept his side in the contest while Barcelona dominated.
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El Clasico ratings Dani Carvajal – 6 out of 10 Won the right-back berth off Danilo and provided the solidity that his head coach was looking for in that position.
El Clasico ratings Sergio Ramos – 4 out of 10 An early yellow card suggested he was going to have one of his more erratic evenings and so it proved. He should’ve been sent off in the first half, then once more again early in the second and when he eventually was, it was the stupidest foul of the lot.
El Clasico ratings Pepe – 5 out of 10 A typically boisterous display but allowed his temper to get the better of him at times. Will be disappointed with how easily Pique escaped him for the first goal.
El Clasico ratings Marcelo – 7 out of 10 Forced the equaliser with an excellent, courageous run inside before squaring the ball out wide.
El Clasico ratings Toni Kroos – 5 out of 10 His assist for Benzema’s equaliser aside, this was yet another occasion which seemed to pass the Germany international by somewhat.
El Clasico ratings Luka Modric – 6 out of 10 Manfully attempted to put the shackles on Andres Iniesta and even had some moderate success but defensive responsibilities limited his impact.
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El Clasico ratings Casemiro – 8 out of 10 Brought into the side to offer protection in midfield and the Brazilian did exactly that, marshalling the middle of the park with class.
El Clasico ratings Gareth Bale – 8 out of 10 Used space intelligently and caused the most problems to Barça’s backline, despite being the member of Real’s front three with the most defensive duties. Unlucky to have a goal ruled out but his assist for the winner was brilliant.
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El Clasico ratings Karim Benzema – 6 out of 10 A rusty display, lacking in any kind of fluidity, full of mis-steps and poor running – up until the goal, that is. A spectacular finish that made up for the dross he’d served up earlier.
El Clasico ratings Cristiano Ronaldo – 7 out of 10 The Portuguese forward showed his ability in flashes but those moments were few and far between until his winning goal, which he took with remarkable composure.
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Spanish newspaper AS claim they have received documents that show Zidane's instructions for the match.
The instructions, which are written in blue and red ink on Real Madrid headed paper, place emphasis on Barcelona's high pressing system and the importance of stopping Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta dominating the midfield - the reason is to make the home side play on the wings rather than through the middle.
Lionel Messi and Neymar were to be followed by a centre-back when either dropped deep, meaning defensive midfielder Casemiro would have to drop back to cover, while Real were told to be wary of Luis Suarez's diagonal runs.
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