In the 2014 edition of the highly-anticipated El Clasico match Saturday Real Madrid shut down the Barcelona powerhouse with an impressive 3-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It was the first time that Blaugrana had conceded goals in the Spanish League and was just the team's second defeat of the year.

With the win, Madrid is now one point behind its rivals for the Spanish League title lead.

Here are some major points that determined the match.

Supporting Players Up to Task for Madrid, Not So Much for Barcelona

This was $1 billion game. So to talk of supporting players is rather odd. But everyone knows who was in Mount Olympus and who wasn't. For Madrid, those "Supporting players" included the likes of Isco, Karim Benzema, Pepe and Dani Carvajal. For Barcelona, it was the defense.

While Real Madrid's "bit" players rose to the occasions, Barcelona's did not.

It was a heated affair from the get-go, with the pace furious and chances aplenty. Barcelona got a big goal from the Luis Suarez-Neymar connection up front and it looked like Blaugrana would continue its terrific start in Spain.

But it was not so easy. While Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Lionel Messi will hold the middle of the park under siege, the defense was looking as leaky as it did against Paris. Maybe even more so.

And it cost them.

The team's defense gave up a plethora of opportunities against a dominant Madrid offense and eventually imploded at the death. The one to open the floodgates was the suddenly polarizing Gerard Pique, whose handball cost his team the lead and could have cost him a red card. He was poor throughout the night and the rest of the defenders, especially Dani Alves, looked lost in defending against Madrid's counter.

Meanwhile, players like Isco, Carvajal and Benzema were delivering in every way. Isco was terrific in both directions while Carvajal, first goal withstanding, was good at neutralizing Neymar. Benzema was getting his chances and eventually nailed down the death blow while Pepe added the winner, despite some poor defensive decisions early on.

Captain Clutch Casillas

Much maligned for his mediocre performances of late, Casillas was called into action when a low cross from Luis Suarez found Lionel Messi all alone. Messi usually finishes these, but Casillas managed to get a piece of it to deflect the ball away. It was one of those miracles that has been missing for so long from Madrid's captain.

But that was not even his finest moment of the game. With Real Madrid up 2-1, Jeremy Mathieu found some space to fire from long range and took it. The ball deflected off of Dani Carvajal and seemed headed toward the near post, but a last-second dive from Casillas avoided the tying goal. It was a huge moment from the inconsistent keeper.

Casillas needed a big game in this one, especially in front of the home fans. He made it count.

Invisible Messi, Invincible Ronaldo

Even if Luis Suarez was the big story of the night, this match was always going to be about the two titans for their respective teams. Ronaldo entered the night with a tremendous goalscoring streak while Messi was one tally away from tying the Spanish League record for most goals scored.

Messi got off to a solid start as the focal man in Barcelona's midfield. He finished with more touches than any other offensive player and was terrific at stringing passes and finding Suarez and Neymar up front.

But then it all turned on one moment. He got in one-on-one with Casillas for a simply tap in and was denied. After that, Messi disappeared in the same manner he did during the World Cup final after his big miss.

And then Ronaldo took over. The superstar was lost for most of the first half, but eventually got a penalty. He did not miss and was tremendous from there on out. He seemed interested in proving to all the doubters that he could also be as unselfish as Messi and there were many moments where he opted for passing the ball in the box rather than taking his customary shots. He was huge in setting up the third goal and looked very active throughout the night. It wasn't one of his heraldic moments, but it was certainly impressive.

Goals & Highlights

Highlights and goals from the 2014 Clasico can be seen below:

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