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Friday 47 Sports Friday, December 20, 2019 Barcelona, Real draw as Clasico marred by violence BARCELONA: Barcelona and Real Madrid ther Barcelona nor Real ever really at their best could not be separated on Wednesday in a Cla- and both, perhaps in the end, happier not to win sico that was overshadowed by violent clashes than to lose. between Catalan independence protestors and A goalless draw means Barcelona stay top of police outside Camp Nou. La Liga, ahead of Real on goal difference while After being postponed in October, there were the historic score in league meetings between renewed fears of unrest around Spain’s most fa- the two rivals remains 72 victories apiece. mous fixture and while the match was only “More than a Clasico”, read the frontpage of briefly interrupted by yellow beach balls thrown Barcelona daily Mundo Deportivo on Wednes- onto the pitch, outside the stadium, chaos en- day morning ahead of a fixture that while always sued. Masked protesters had set bins on fire and politically charged, had assumed even greater thrown rocks and glass bottles at police, who re- significance than usual. sponded by firing foam bullets. Forty-six people The game was originally due to be played on were lightly injured in the clashes, including eight October 26 but was postponed due to violent who needed to be taken to a medical centre for protests breaking out across Catalonia, follow- extra care, local emergency services said. ing the sentencing of nine independence leaders Five people were arrested, according to a po- to prison. In the 53 days since, expectations lice spokesman.
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