Real Madrid or Barcelona - which Clasico rival has had the best season?

Emily Willson

Real Madrid or Barcelona - which Clasico rival has had the best season? image

Barcelona and Real Madrid head into Sunday's Clasico with plenty of reasons to be happy with how they're finishing their 2017-18 season.

The Catalans have already claimed a domestic double this season, securing their 25th league title last weekend having thrashed Sevilla 5-0 in the Copa del Rey final a week earlier.

Ernesto Valverde's debut season in charge at Camp Nou was forecast to be far trickier, but he's weathered the storm of losing Neymar for a world-record fee to Paris Saint-Germain with aplomb.

While Real Madrid were left wanting in La Liga, a third consecutive Champions League final awaits for Zinedine Zidane's side, with Cristiano Ronaldo the frontrunner to win this year's Ballon d'Or.

Although they hardly looked imperious against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, scrapping their way into the Kiev showpiece 4-3 on aggregate with a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu, they're just one win away from yet another European title.

So who do you think can claim to have had the best season: Barcelona or Real Madrid?

 

The upcoming Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid will be the 176th time the two teams have faced each other in La Liga, with Barcelona winning the first meeting between the two sides earlier on this season. 

So far this season, Barcelona have gone the entirety unbeaten and could become the first team since 1932 to do so if they avoid defeat in their final three matches. Madrid, on the other hand, have lost five games in La Liga most recently to Espanyol in February.

Ronaldo has been pivotal to Real Madrid's turnaround in fortunes in 2018, going from four goals before Christmas in La Liga to scoring a further 20 goals in the second half of the season, taking him to a total of 42 goals in all competitions.

At Camp Nou, Lionel Messi has 43 goals under his belt across 2017-18 in all competitions, and in La Liga he has racked up his fourth-best tally at the club with 32 goals this season.

COMPETITIONS CRISTIANO RONALDO LIONEL MESSI
La Liga 24 32
Champions League 15 6
Club World Cup 2 n/a
Supercopa 1 4
Copa del Rey n/a 1
Total 42 43

Emily Willson