Ronaldo & Bale v Messi & Neymar: Who delivered the knockout blow?

Goal weighs up the Clasico battle between the two pairs of superstars in Barcelona's 4-3 victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Which duo came out on top?

Goal presents a boxing-style head-to-head battle between the Clasico's four biggest names: Lionel Messi and Neymar of Barcelona, and Real Madrid duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

Sunday evening's Liga showdown at the Santiago Bernabeu, which finished 4-3 in favour of the Blaugrana, saw four of the biggest names in world football face off. Who came out on top?

Here's a explanation of how the players are scored:

• If there is little to separate the players in a round they will be scored 10-10. A narrow win in a round, where there are no goals in the match involving the quartet, will produce a 10-9. If Messi or Neymar score a goal in a round, and Ronaldo and Bale do not, the South American pair will win that round 10-8. If the Blaugrana duo score twice, and their Blancos counterparts do not, Messi and Neymar will win 10-7.

• The same system is used for assists and for winning a penalty. So, if, in a round, Bale creates a goal and wins a penalty (without taking the penalty), while neither Messi nor Neymar do anything of note, Bale and Ronaldo win that round 10-7.

• A yellow card results in a one-point deduction. A dive in the penalty area or just outside that is penalised by the referee will lose a player a point, too.

• At least one of the two pairings will always be awarded a 10 for a round unless all four get booked in the same round, which will result in a 9-9.

Please recognise that these values are different to Goal's Player Ratings and designed to reflect the combat-style judging of a boxing bout. 

Let's go! 

ROUND BY ROUND

4': Ronaldo darts towards the Barca box but is tackled. His penalty appeals are turned down 5': PASS - Bale reads the game well to force the ball to Karim Benzema, who shoots wide 6': Bale lofts a decent ball into Ronaldo, who goes down under a challenge from Dani Alves, but softly	9	0-15 mins	10	4': Neymar forces Diego Lopez into a save with a decent effort from a tight angle 7': ASSIST - Messi plays in Andres Iniesta brilliantly and the Barcelona midfielder slams a left-footed effort into the top corner 15': SHOT - Messi beats the offisde trap to go one on one with Lopez but drags his shot wide when he should have done better
18': SHOT - Ronaldo has a dig from distance but it's all too easy for  Victor Valdes to save 27': SHOT - Ronaldo sends a free kick of his own straight into the Barcelona wall	10	16-30 mins	10	19': PASS - Messi plays in Neymar, who is hounded out of possession in the Madrid box 25': Messi draws a foul from Sergio Ramos as he looks to burst torwards the Madid goal, but puts the resulting free kick into the wall
32': Bale is fed down the right but goes down too easily and is waved up by the referee 37': Ronaldo runs into the box on the left and looks to take on Pique but the Spain defender gets the better of him 45': Angel Di Maria swings in a ball which Ronaldo tries to volley home but he fails to make proper contact	8	31-45 mins	10	35': Neymar draws the first yellow card of the match aafter going down under a late Di Maria tackle 42': GOAL - Neymar and Messi exchange passes in the Madrid box and  the Argentine slams the ball home to level it up 45': CARD - Bale is booked for a high tackle on Pique
	27	HT	30
52': PASS -Bale makes a brilliant run through the middle and forces the ball to Benzema, whose shot is well saved by Valdes 53': GOAL - Ronaldo wins a penalty after going down under a Javier Mascherano tackle on the edge of the area and makes no mistake from the spot 55': SHOT - Ronaldo and Benzema combine to set up Bale, who forces another save from Valdes from a tight angle	10	46-60 mins	8	51': Madrid put the ball out of play after Neymar appears to have been hurt when Di Maria steps on his toe
71': The ball falls kindly to Ronaldo on the edge of the box but his first touch is far too heavy and he gvies up possession 73': Bale picks up the ball on the right and despite having a decent amount of space, he dribbles into nowhere and is dispossessed	8	61-75 mins	10	65': GOAL - Messi cuts Madrid open by playing in Neymar who goes down - perhaps softly - under a challenge from Ramos. The defender is sent off and Messi scores the resulting penalty 69': Neymar is withdrawn in favour of Pedro after a fairly quiet all-round performance
86': Yellow - Ronaldo goes into the boox after tangling with Javier Mascherano 89': Ronaldo strides forward to try and get Madrid back on level terms but is taken down off the ball	7	76-90 mins	10	84': GOAL - Iniesta goes down in the area and once again, Lionel Messi buries the penalty to put Barca 4-3 up 90': Alves kickstarts a counterattack and crosses towards Messi, but Lopez gets there first

52

TOTAL

58