A tale of two strikers: El Clasico winners and losers as Ballon d'Or-bound Benzema outshines Lewandowski

On the eve of him almost certainly picking up his first Ballon d'Or, Benzema reminded the world of just why he is still regarded as the world's best central striker.

Though his finish for the opening goal might have looked easy after Marc-Andre ter Stegen had parried Vinicius Junior's effort out to the edge of the area, Benzema still had a forest of Barcelona bodies to navigate a shot through.

He managed it - albeit via a deflection from Sergi Roberto - as he yet again stood up on the biggest stage to be a difference-maker for Madrid.

He had what would have been a brilliant second goal ruled out for offside in the second half, but even then it was clear that he is more than just a tap-in merchant.

Next stop for Benzema? Paris on Monday evening. There is a Golden Ball with his name on it waiting for him.

Despite the great strides Barcelona have taken since Xavi replaced Ronald Koeman as manager just under a year ago, the pressure has been growing on the ex-midfielder in recent weeks.

That went up another level in midweek after their dramatic 3-3 draw with Inter left them needing a minor miracle to make it out of their Champions League group, and now his first Clasico defeat as a coach will lead to further questions being asked of him.

That might seem unfair given the job Xavi has done in revitalising a squad that looked irreparably broken in Koeman's final days, but given the precarious nature of the club's finances, Joan Laporta is unlikely to be patient if things start to go badly.

To Xavi's credit, he made good substitutions that led to Barca's fightback, with Gavi, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres all involved in the Blaugrana's goal late on.

Valverde's quality is not really a secret anymore, though he continues to play second fiddle to some of the more famous names when it comes to analysing Madrid's biggest strengths.

But after his arrowed 20-yard strike lit up Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, maybe it will be the Uruguay international's face that starts to appear on the posters and adverts.

Whether it is part of a midfield three or on the right of the forward line, Valverde very rarely lets Carlo Ancelotti down, with his stamina almost as important as his quality on the ball.

That was clear in the final stages when he showed great energy to break away from three Barcelona defenders before playing in Rodrygo - the man he started the game ahead of - to win Madrid's late penalty.

Lewandowski certainly hasn't had a bad start to life at Barcelona, and his record of 14 goals in just 13 games is proof of enough of that.

He has, though, missed some big chances along the way, most notably away at Bayern Munich in the Champions League and then against Madrid on Sunday.

With the home side 1-0 up, Lewandowski was presented with a golden opportunity to level the scores midway through the first half when a drilled cross found him at the back post.

Lewandowski was stretching, but he would have expected himself to score from just a yard out rather than sky his effort high into the stands behind the goal.

Not a first Clasico to remember for Barca's prestige summer signing, then.

Luka Modric has got a lot of the attention in the Madrid midfield over the past 12 months, but on Sunday it was Kroos who put in the outstanding performance for Los Blancos.

He typified the extra energy and strength that Ancelotti's team showed in the build-up to the first goal, as he shrugged off a challenge from Sergio Busquets to put Vinicius in for the chance that led to Benzema's strike.

From there, the Germany international dictated the tempo of the game while always looking to play the ball forward.

His performance allowed Clasico debutant Aurielien Tchouameni to grow into the game, and it was no surprise that he also put in a strong showing alongside the experience of both Kroos and Modric.

The Drake curse lives on!

Barca fans should have feared the worst when the news broke that the Canadian rapper would be their one-off shirt sponsor for the biggest game of the season.

Drake has a long history of posing in football shirts, only for the teams that he is showing support for to go on and lose their next game, and Barca were no different here.

He even doubled down ahead of the game by placing a huge bet on Barca to do the business alongside Arsenal beating Leeds that would have won him over £2.5 million had it landed.

But while the Gunners did the business at Elland Road, Barca couldn't come through with the goods, and there are unlikely to be many teams queuing up to have Drake endorse them in the near future.